The German Capability Index—An Operationalization of Sen’s …
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reduce (as will be discussed in further detail below) the current as well as future
“worldwide reach” [55] of consumption and production patterns.
Hence, for humanity to sustain itself, especially the core of sustainable development—namely the food–energy–water nexus [70]—must first and foremost be
transformed to become sustainable. This core is currently affected by global challenges as described in the IPCC Reports [32–34] and reflected in the UN Sustainable
Development Goals [69].
With respect to human development, these challenges endanger the vision of
the UN with respect to “the rule of law, justice, equality and … of equal opportunity permitting the full realization of human potential and contributing to shared
prosperity [69]” and thus the chances of a decent life around the globe.
Based on the ideas of Kant [35], development means providing people with an
environment which enables them to live a long, healthy and creative life [3], which
enlarge people’s choices and opportunities [3, 71]. Hence, an essential differentiation
must be made between the means which can be used for a certain development and
the ultimate aim of this development: the welfare of the people [60, 71].
Against this background, sustainable development can be defined in line with
Sen’s capability approach as a “development that prompts the capabilities of present
people without compromising capabilities of future generations [60]”. Intragenerational social justice corresponds to “equality of capabilities [45]”, which are not
restricted by the consumption patterns of others.
So far, Sen’s idea of capabilities has been applied among others in the context
of energy justice and sustainable development by various scientists: Altman uses
Sen’s capabilities approach in order to analyse socioeconomic development and the
well-being of individuals. It is of interest for Altman to highlight the correlation
of individual capabilities and the imagination of a decent life with the concept of
economic welfare [1]. Bartiaux present a theoretical and empirical framework for a
nexus among energy justice and capabilities [10]. This statistical operationalization
of Sen’s and Nussbaum’s concept of capabilities examines all households of Belgium;
nevertheless, it is transferable to other countries as well. Also, Biggs et al. present an
integrated assessment approach for the nexus of water, energy, food and a sustainable
decent life [11]. Bartiaux et al. examine energy policy-related inequalities of different
social classes in Belgium and Portugal against the background of various justice
theories [9]. Hillerbrand enlarges the scope of the capability approach by including
reflections on sustainability and its criticisms [31]. This way the synergies between
the environment and individuals’ well-being are included. Sovacool and Dworkin
propose concepts of energy justice as a base for a conceptual and decision-making
tool to better integrate procedural and distributive justice concerns [67]. MartínezGuido et al. introduce a newly developed optimization approach including the water–
energy–food nexus in order to improve the Human Development Index [44]. Thereby
they take into account environmental and social sustainability criteria.
Nevertheless, it can overall be stated that the specific combination of Sen’s capability approach with the concept of the FEW-nexus is not yet explicitly found in the
corresponding research disciplines. The present study thus represents a first attempt
to operationalize these two concepts in order to close this research gap.
147
reduce (as will be discussed in further detail below) the current as well as future
“worldwide reach” [55] of consumption and production patterns.
Hence, for humanity to sustain itself, especially the core of sustainable development—namely the food–energy–water nexus [70]—must first and foremost be
transformed to become sustainable. This core is currently affected by global challenges as described in the IPCC Reports [32–34] and reflected in the UN Sustainable
Development Goals [69].
With respect to human development, these challenges endanger the vision of
the UN with respect to “the rule of law, justice, equality and … of equal opportunity permitting the full realization of human potential and contributing to shared
prosperity [69]” and thus the chances of a decent life around the globe.
Based on the ideas of Kant [35], development means providing people with an
environment which enables them to live a long, healthy and creative life [3], which
enlarge people’s choices and opportunities [3, 71]. Hence, an essential differentiation
must be made between the means which can be used for a certain development and
the ultimate aim of this development: the welfare of the people [60, 71].
Against this background, sustainable development can be defined in line with
Sen’s capability approach as a “development that prompts the capabilities of present
people without compromising capabilities of future generations [60]”. Intragenerational social justice corresponds to “equality of capabilities [45]”, which are not
restricted by the consumption patterns of others.
So far, Sen’s idea of capabilities has been applied among others in the context
of energy justice and sustainable development by various scientists: Altman uses
Sen’s capabilities approach in order to analyse socioeconomic development and the
well-being of individuals. It is of interest for Altman to highlight the correlation
of individual capabilities and the imagination of a decent life with the concept of
economic welfare [1]. Bartiaux present a theoretical and empirical framework for a
nexus among energy justice and capabilities [10]. This statistical operationalization
of Sen’s and Nussbaum’s concept of capabilities examines all households of Belgium;
nevertheless, it is transferable to other countries as well. Also, Biggs et al. present an
integrated assessment approach for the nexus of water, energy, food and a sustainable
decent life [11]. Bartiaux et al. examine energy policy-related inequalities of different
social classes in Belgium and Portugal against the background of various justice
theories [9]. Hillerbrand enlarges the scope of the capability approach by including
reflections on sustainability and its criticisms [31]. This way the synergies between
the environment and individuals’ well-being are included. Sovacool and Dworkin
propose concepts of energy justice as a base for a conceptual and decision-making
tool to better integrate procedural and distributive justice concerns [67]. MartínezGuido et al. introduce a newly developed optimization approach including the water–
energy–food nexus in order to improve the Human Development Index [44]. Thereby
they take into account environmental and social sustainability criteria.
Nevertheless, it can overall be stated that the specific combination of Sen’s capability approach with the concept of the FEW-nexus is not yet explicitly found in the
corresponding research disciplines. The present study thus represents a first attempt
to operationalize these two concepts in order to close this research gap.