Energy poverty in the Energy Community region: Interrogating policy formulation and coverage.

The capacity of the state to develop and implement policy at the complex nexus of energy infrastructure, social inequality and housing is indicative of the political priorities of governing structures and, by extension, the nature of statecraft more generally. We compare and contrast the energy poverty amelioration policies of two former Yugoslav and two post-Soviet states located outside the European Union, but seeking to join its regulatory sphere - Serbia, Montenegro, Ukraine and Georgia - against the background of deep and persistent patterns of domestic energy hardship. We are particularly interested in uncovering the time horizons, socio-technical systems and target constituencies of different policy measures, as well as energy sector-specific responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that most states in the region have done little to address some of the more substantive challenges around improving housing quality, energy efficiency and gender inequality. However, energy poverty is present in the policy lexicon of all case study countries, and Ukraine, in particular, has advanced a number of more sophisticated approaches and programmes.

Looking back to look forward: Reflections from networked research on energy poverty.

Energy poverty is a far-reaching concept that intrinsically bridges numerous fields of study, ranging from engineering to anthropology and medical science to social psychology. The profound implications of energy poverty on the quality of life globally have also led to a wide range of metrics and policies aimed at measuring it and alleviating it, albeit with limited success. Using a mixed methods approach, our network has conducted research to advance knowledge and interpretations of energy poverty and boost scientific outputs' capacity to shape knowledge-based policies. In this article, we critically review this extensive research endeavor, as well as its results. We build on the conceptual, methodological, and policy dimensions of energy poverty research to set up pathways toward a new, interdisciplinary research and policy agenda on energy poverty mitigation better equipped to provide meaningful answers to the challenges posed by the current ongoing energy crisis.