Energy Justice in Informal Urban Contexts: A Scoping Review of Capabilities, Governance, and Planning

In many low- and middle-income countries, energy planning processes remain centralised, technocratic, and disconnected from the lived realities of informal settlements, thereby institutionalising distributive, procedural, and recognition injustices before infrastructure decisions are implemented. This study conducts a global-to-local scoping review of 102 studies following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Through thematic analysis, the review reveals that energy injustices in informal settlements are systemic outcomes of fragmented governance, exclusionary planning paradigms, and regulatory misalignment, which collectively curtail fundamental human capabilities for health, education, and livelihood. In response, the study develops and proposes the Energy Justice Triangle (EJT), an integrative framework linking three interdependent vertices: Capabilities & Well-being, Justice Principles, and Governance & Institutions. Applied through the lens of Lusaka’s informal settlements, the EJT demonstrates how opaque, grid-centric planning systems reproduce spatial and socio-economic exclusion. Crucially, the paper argues that dismantling these barriers requires a shift toward 'Glass Box' planning through a transparent approach that marries technical modelling standards, such as the U4RIA principles (Universal, Open, and Accessible), with the foundational tenets of Energy Justice. By utilizing the Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) 'flatpack' approach to institutionalize these open-source practices into local energy planning capacity, the study advances the EJT as a normative guide for justice-oriented energy system transformation. By connecting governance reform with modelling innovation, the study advances the EJT as a normative guide for justice-oriented energy system transformation. When planning assumptions, data inputs, and scenario choices are made more transparent, justice considerations can be more explicitly incorporated into planning processes.