Somewhere between the extremes of excessive energy use and energy poverty lies ‘energy sufficiency’. We would argue that sufficient energy is “a human right and must be affordable for poor people.” (CSE et al, 2015) Yet without further elaboration about how energy sufficiency is to be understood and insights into what it might look like in practice, energy sufficiency is nothing more than a moral stance (CSE et al, 2015).

In this briefing we endeavour to explain what the concept of energy sufficiency might mean in practice, specifically with respect to delivering energy access, with examples from Palestine, Cameroon, and Scotland. While these examples are by no means exhaustive, they provide a starting point for integrating the concept of energy sufficiency into thinking around delivering sustainable energy for all.