In 2020, according to Eurostat data, 36 million Europeans were estimated to be in energy poverty, unable to heat or cool their homes adequately. And the surge in energy prices, caused also – but not solely – by the war in Ukraine, has only exacerbated their already precarious situation.
The European Green Deal emphasises the need to tackle energy poverty and ensure a just transition for all. The EU is therefore addressing this issue in various legislative initiatives and in the context of its climate and energy transition policies, of which the recovery fund is a central instrument as it is designed to respond to the post-pandemic economic crisis in a green way. More recently, the REPowerEU plan, through the possibility of modifying national recovery plans, pushes Member States to accelerate the green transition, but also to address the growing energy poverty of households and enterprises. However, with regard to the Italian REPowerEU chapter and the opaque procedures that are leading to its elaboration, these do not seem to be the Italian government’s priorities.
Public investments proposed by governments should address energy poverty by ensuring affordable energy prices, energy efficiency improvements, energy savings and social inclusion. Are there good practices that manage to combine these dimensions? What investments do we need to respond to this urgency?
These questions were answered by examining the Italian energy context and the actors that determine, through a business-as-usual strategy focusing on fossil gas, the worsening of the situation; by looking at the different dimensions of energy poverty and the tools to tackle it; at the experiences of energy communities in Italy and the proposals of civil society in the Czech Republic.
Agenda:
- The context of the energy crisis and the hands on recovery.
- Energy poverty: how to deal with a multidimensional phenomenon.
- Energy communities as a tool to fight energy poverty.
- Hnutí Duha’s proposals in Czech Republic
Recording from the webinar ‘Recovery Fund: what investments to fight energy poverty?‘
