The energy researcher who wants to build better to consume less

Against a global backdrop of rising energy demands and finite resources, Rihab Khalid set out to understand how buildings can become more energy efficient. As a result, she now advocates for building and energy policies that consider cultural differences and address the needs of women. When I was first introduced to energy-efficient architecture I felt as though I'd found my calling. For me, energy is personal. I grew up in a community where for up to 12 hours a day we didn't have access to electricity. It was the very absence of energy that made it so visible and valuable. We came up with ways of working around power blackouts. Extremely mindful of our electricity consumption, we would schedule our activities in advance and often synchronise practices to make the most of the time when electricity was available. Although the number of hours we had electricity per day was limiting, many people in the Global South have access to far fewer hours than we did. Energy access in a developing country like Pakistan, where I grew up, is a very real and widespread problem. Pakistan faces an electricity shortfall of 5,000MW with about 26% of its population (56 million people) still without basic access to electricity. Worldwide, 13% of people still lack access to modern electricity, which has implications for education, health and the climate. The middle-class in the Global South is growing dramatically.