Energy poverty as capabilities deprivation

The COVID-19 pandemic and the current energy crisis have brought to the attention of policymakers the need to tackle energy poverty. To effectively counter its growing diffusion, it is essential to know its extent and its determinants. However, the full understanding was hindered by the terminological confusion between fuel poverty and energy poverty, as well as by the use of unidimensional indexes. After describing the limits of traditional approaches, the paper argues that Sen's capability approach represents the most appropriate normative framework to enhance the multidimensional nature of energy poverty. © 2023, Associazione Economia Civile. All rights reserved.

La povertà energetica come privazione delle capacità

La pandemia da COVID-19 e l'attuale crisi energetica hanno portato all'attenzione dei policy maker la necessità di affrontare la povertà energetica. Per contrastare efficacemente la sua crescente diffusione, è fondamentale conoscere la sua entità e i suoi determinanti. La piena comprensione è stata però ostacolata dalla confusione terminologica tra fuel poverty ed energy poverty, nonché dal ricorso a indici unidimensionali. Dopo aver descritto i limiti degli approcci tradizionali, l'articolo sostiene come il capability approach di Sen rappresenti il quadro normativo più adeguato a valorizzare la natura multidimensionale della povertà energetica dal punto di vista teorico ed empirico.Alternate :The COVID-19 pandemic and the current energy crisis have brought to the attention of policymakers the need to tackle energy poverty. To effectively counter its growing diffusion, it is essential to know its extent and its determinants. However, the full understanding was hindered by the terminological confusion between fuel poverty and energy poverty, as well as by the use of unidimensional indexes. After describing the limits of traditional approaches, the paper argues that Sen's capability approach represents the most appropriate normative framework to enhance the multidimensional nature of energy poverty.

A Pilot Study to Evaluate Occupant Quality of Life in Optimised Retrofit Dwellings in Wales, UK

This paper discusses an investigation into quality of life (QoL) as a pilot study from a sample of occupants living in existing dwellings, that have been (2021) or will be retrofitted in 2022 and 2023, funded by the Welsh Government's (WG's) Optimised Retrofit (OR) project. The pan Wales OR project aims to retrofit close to 2000 existing social housing dwellings targeting nearly-zero/zero operational energy standards, to alleviate occupant fuel poverty and reduce energy costs and carbon emissions and increase occupant comfort and QoL. The methodology presented builds on two previous research projects undertaken and completed by two of the authors in 2010 and 2020, to adapt and create a hybrid Short Form-36 (HSF36) health survey, accompanied by the established RAND analysis system. The HSF36 questionnaire survey has been further refined for the OR project and has been used to collect occupant data through face-to-face interviews and online surveys. The occupants live in dwellings manged by one of Wales's largest registered social housing landlords (RSL's) with circa 8000 dwellings. The challenges and solutions for undertaking occupant engagement for surveys during Covid19 restrictions are illustrated. Once dwelling retrofits are completed in 2022 and 2023, the intention is to conduct a second and third phase of occupant engagement. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Mainstreaming a gender perspective into the study of energy poverty in the city of Madrid

The feminisation of energy poverty in the city of Madrid is currently impossible to measure through statistics for those women who are not the main breadwinners. However, a crescent body of knowledge about qualitative research applied to the study of energy poverty has disclosed several aspects related to vulnerability to energy poverty and its impacts. The paper shows the results of a qualitative characterisation of 16 women from Madrid based on interviews conducted during the winters of 2019 and 2020, before and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Four different ways in which gender roles shape experiences of energy poverty are revealed. First, the assumption of responsibility for the home well-being is intrinsically linked to women's identity. Second, how patterns and habits of energy consumption are influenced because of gender. In the third place, how emotions are not only a consequence of suffering from energy poverty but can also help to hide it. Lastly, segregation of capabilities by gender roles from the early age contributes to condition knowledge of household energy management. The importance of reformulating gender inequality dynamics by focusing on personal experience and being able to extract conclusions joining quantitative studies shall be included in future studies.

Macroeconomic Policy versus Fuel Poverty in Poland—Support or Barrier

Energy and climate policies play an increasingly important role in the world in the era of climate change and rising energy prices. More often, the importance of the development of the energy sector and climate protection is seen from the point of view of the expenditures that will need to be absorbed in the economy, with the potential for increased energy prices. However, it should be remembered that this is also related to the issue of fuel poverty and the inability to meet basic energy needs by parts of society. The aim of the paper is to assess the importance of macroeconomic policy instruments in reducing fuel poverty, using Poland as an example. It will be examined whether and how the government influenced this phenomenon (directly or indirectly), through which instruments, and which instruments (fiscal, monetary or energy-climate policy) played the most important role in shaping the scale of fuel poverty in Poland, with an emphasis on the role of monetary and fiscal policy instruments. The analysis covered the period from 2004 to mid-2021. The results of the research showed that in Poland there is a lack of policy directly aimed at reducing fuel poverty, and the government affects the scale of fuel poverty indirectly mainly through macroeconomic policy instruments, i.e., fiscal and monetary policy instruments. The main and most effective instruments for reducing fuel poverty in Poland are social transfers. Other instruments that have a statistically significant impact on this poverty rate are the level of tax burdens and short-term interest rates. The analysis also revealed some opportunities for effective fuel poverty reduction policies. It was proven that in addition to fiscal policy, monetary policy, which would stimulate a decrease in short-term interest rates, is also an effective way to reduce the fuel poverty rate in Poland.

Quantifying the prevalence of energy poverty across Canada: Estimating domestic energy burden using an expenditures approach

Energy poverty is gaining public attention in Canada. Based on statistical analysis of Statistics Canada's 2016 Survey of Household Spending, we estimate that 7-9% of households spent more than 10% of their income on energy expenditures. Households in the Atlantic provinces faced the most energy poverty and highest energy expenditures. Low income, geography, and dwelling conditions were the main predictors of energy poverty. Households in energy poverty also spent approximately five times more on energy expenditures as a proportion of their total expenditures compared to households not in energy poverty. Our study fills a key research gap as a limited number of studies exist on the extent and drivers of energy poverty in Canada. Further, our study's robust quantitative estimates allow benchmarking and comparative research. These estimates lay the groundwork for evidence-based solutions-and our findings highlight the need to reconsider current policies. Considering the challenge of the ratio of energy costs to income is vital, especially in the aftermath of events such as COVID-19 or the 2021 heatwave in western Canada, which result in different energy behaviours and needs. More broadly, in the regular day-to-day, energy services should be seen as necessary and decision makers ought to consider the energy burden of Canadians.

Fuel poverty and financial distress.

Governments and advocacy groups have drawn attention to the precarious position of those members of society who are unable to attain an adequate level of energy services, i.e. the fuel poor. Concerns have also arisen about the ability of fuel poor individuals to adapt to the hardship recently brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring empirically the link between fuel poverty and financial distress prior to and during the first wave the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis is based on the most recent longitudinal, nationally representative survey of the United Kingdom, Understanding Society (UKHLS, Wave 10, January 2018-February 2020). After correcting for the effects of potential endogeneity in the variables of interest, our results identify a statistically robust relationship between fuel poverty indicators and self-reported measures of current financial distress, with stronger effects for subjective indicators. The fuel poverty indicators however exert only a limited influence on an individual's expectation of their future financial situation. Our analysis of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic also confirms that fuel poverty contributed to financial distress. Our main findings are robust to a suite of specification and sensitivity checks. Our results lead to recommend assessing measures which target fuel poverty on the basis of their potential indirect effect on financial distress.

Emergency measures to protect energy consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic: A global review and critical analysis.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown exacerbated energy poverty and insecurity worldwide. Many governments introduced emergency measures to protect energy consumers during confinement. This article reviews and classifies the policies implemented in several jurisdictions around the world, identifying potential inefficiencies, but also best practices. According to our analysis, these much-needed relief measures should be based on a proper targeting and a consistent financing.