Heat or eat? Energy poverty sweeps Europe
Even when we are not paying attention to it, we all rely on energy. Be it for heating, cooling or lighting up our homes, providing adequate power is a fundamental objective. Nevertheless, energy poverty remains a major challenge throughout Europe. Sweeping across the continent, an increasing number of households are left struggling heating their homes and paying their energy bills on time.
In 2021, nearly seven percent of the EU’s population was unable to properly heat their home. Adding to the already murky situation, last year’s energy crunch left households bearing the brunt of the costs as energy shortage ratcheted up heating bills.
In the UK alone, more than two million households fell into fuel poverty in 2022. An equally staggering number, Statistics Poland indicates that up towards 6.58 million Polish citizens are affected by energy poverty. The problem is especially prevalent in rural areas and small towns, where families typically live in single family-dwellings heated by solid-fuel boilers and without sufficient thermal protection.
In highlighting ways forward, State of Green held a round table on fighting energy poverty through energy efficiency in Poland yesterday. With Europe's building sector responsible for 40 percent of energy consumption and 36 percent of CO2 emissions, the discussions revolved around initiatives to counter-balance the short-term remedy of cash handouts and spike in fossil fuel subsidies, looking at implementing low-cost energy renovations and energy efficiency technologies as a lever for long-term decarbonization with positive economic, environmental, and health-related spill-over effects.
Complementing the list of cases below, many of the presented ideas are showcased in our white paper on ways to realise the untapped potential of the built environment.
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