International Journal of Sustainable Energy

Carbon Pricing, Socioeconomic Outcomes, and Energy Poverty in Developing Economies

The accelerating urgency of climate change has prompted governments worldwide to deploy carbon pricing as a central policy instrument, however its broader consequences for society remain insufficiently understood. Carbon pricing mechanisms including carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes are designed to internalise the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions, incentivising firms and households to reduce fossil fuel dependence. However, the distributional effects of these instruments, particularly their implications for energy poverty and socio-economic equity in both developed and developing economies, warrant sustained scholarly attention. The seminal paper by Tamasiga, Onyeaka, Bakwena, and Ouassou (2024), published in this journal, offered a pioneering empirical contribution by unveiling how carbon pricing shapes socio-economic outcomes and energy access, laying a foundation for deeper investigation across diverse policy contexts.

Translating carbon pricing policy from an abstract environmental mechanism into a socially equitable instrument is one of the defining challenges of the contemporary energy transition. Without explicit attention to distributional outcomes, carbon pricing can impose regressive burdens on low-income households, deepen energy poverty, and undermine public support for climate action. This is especially consequential in developing economies and emerging markets where energy access disparities are acute and fiscal capacity to cushion households is limited. Understanding the socio-economic and energy poverty dimensions of carbon pricing is therefore critical not only for the effectiveness of climate policy, but for the legitimacy of just energy transitions globally. This Article Collection directly addresses this gap, bringing together research that interrogates how carbon pricing interacts with inequality, welfare, and energy access across diverse national and regional contexts.

This Article Collection invites original research articles, reviews, and policy-oriented analyses that advance understanding of carbon pricing in relation to socio-economic outcomes and energy overty. Relevant subtopics include but are not limited to: distributional and welfare effects of carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes; revenue recycling mechanisms and their equity implications; energy poverty measurement and its interaction with carbon price signals; political economy of carbon pricing adoption and reform; comparative policy analysis across income groups and regions; and the role of carbon pricing in just energy transition frameworks. The Collection particularly welcomes contributions from or focused on developing countries, emerging economies, and vulnerable communities that are underrepresented in the existing literature. Empirical, theoretical, and mixed-methods submissions are encouraged.

Keywords: Carbon pricing, Energy poverty, Socio-economic outcomes, Just energy transition, Climate policy and development economics

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is [31 December 2026].

Please contact [Zhan Yu] at [[email protected]] with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select "Carbon Pricing, Socioeconomic Outcomes, and Energy Poverty in Developing Economies" from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Dr. Phemelo Tamasiga is a Senior Policy Researcher at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn, Germany, where he leads and contributes to research on energy transition, climate finance, green industrialisation, and sustainable value chains. He holds a PhD in Economics (Magna cum Laude) from Bielefeld University and has held positions at the OECD, IDDRI, H2Global Foundation, and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, as well as advisory roles with Climate Compatible Growth across Botswana, Uganda, Ghana, and South Africa. His peer-reviewed work spans carbon pricing, energy poverty, just energy transitions, green industrial policy, and climate resilience, published in journals including Energy Strategy Reviews, Energy and Climate Change, Energy Reports, and the International Journal of Sustainable Energy. Dr. Tamasiga is an Assistant Editor at Cogent Social Sciences (Taylor and Francis) and serves as a reviewer for multiple leading journals in sustainability and energy economics. He is a Non-Executive Director at the Centre of Research in Energy, Trade and Green Industrialisation (CRETEGI) in Botswana and has contributed to G20 policy dialogues on inclusive climate justice and just energy transitions.