The course is organized in the following modules:

Module I. Access to energy: energy and technological framework, historical-economic framework, ethical-legal aspects (17h) which includes energy transitions between past and future (resources, technologies and international relations), the challenge of the universality of the energy transition and the ethical-legal aspects of universal access to energy. First of all, the module introduces the history of energy transitions, from the industrial revolution to today, illustrating the economic, technological, political, strategic factors that have redefined the geopolitics of energy sources in these two centuries (coal, oil, gas, nuclear); understanding past energy transitions is also key to understanding the current and future energy transition and the challenges it is called to face (from climate change to inequalities to power relations on a global scale). Energy consumption at a global level will then be illustrated, highlighting the aspects of inequality with particular attention to the lack of access to electricity and clean fuels for cooking in the various areas of the planet. Finally, it will be highlighted how energy transitions, in order to take place, need a convergence of technological and political-institutional innovations, also including the necessary changes in the technical and regulatory framework. The module also emphasizes the 'legal' dimension of energy as an instrumental right and concludes with an ethical-legal analysis of the concept of inequality.

Module II. Access to energy: technological aspects and socio-economic implications (11.5h) which includes the issues of access to energy (residential, community and productive uses) and the related socio-economic impacts. First, the module illustrates the levels of energy access, drivers of energy demand and technologies for electrification and access to clean fuels. Therefore, the most relevant socio-economic indices in terms of access to energy and the impacts on energy services, gender, education, health, economic transformations and work, safety are introduced.

Module III. Energy transitions and society: historical economic and legal framework (17h) which includes the energy transitions between past and future (the geopolitics of the current energy transition) and considerations about ‘means and ends’ in relation to the ethical-legal aspects of access to energy. The module develops the major issues of the current energy transition from a historical perspective, defining its geopolitical coordinates, the new relationship between resources, technologies and international relations, the emergence of new producers and consumers on a global scale, and the role of public opinion. Then some key changes in the regulatory framework that can facilitate access to energy will be illustrated, for example relating to the liberalization of markets or other solutions that lead to a 'leapfrogging' with respect to established trends.