Suchergebnisse

Contextualizing household energy efficiency in the frame of the theory of Energy Justice - a literature review Week 2, Session 4 In the context of energy transition, it is crucial to guarantee that the situation of vulnerable groups, such as energy poor households, do not worsen and that they also benefit from the process. Inefficient homes are one the most important causes of energy poverty, while investments in energy efficiency of the housing stock is a key element of the current energy transition. Involving energy poor households' dwellings in the large-scale renovation program would offer large co-benefits in terms of carbon emission reduction and alleviation of energy poverty. Though, to guarantee that energy efficiency funding arrives to energy poor households too, a policy attention is needed, and it raises important questions in terms of justice. This paper is a literature review and first, it aims to contextualise household energy efficiency in the conceptual framework of energy justice. Then explores works on spatial patters of energy poverty in Europe as well as on the (lack) of policy responses in the field of energy efficiency at national levels in the European Union. All this, to highlight further aspects of inequalities that are relevant in the context of energy justice. The most striking result to emerge from this review is that EU energy efficiency policies have not been adequately analysed yet in the context of energy justice and their capacity of energy poverty alleviation. This present study therefore lays the groundwork for future research in the field of exploiting co-benefits of household energy efficiency policies in terms of energy transition and energy poverty alleviation.

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M ; Hungary has one of the highest incidences of energy poverty in the European Union, and a high share of Hungarian low-income households rely on solid fuels. This paper first maps the energy vulnerabilities of Hungarian solid fuel users using six energy vulnerability factors. The mapping underlines that solid fuel users are more exposed to energy vulnerability than average households. This is followed by an analysis of energy-poverty-related objectives and measures outlined in the Hungarian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), a key policy document of the green energy transition. The paper outlines that the NECP fails to comply with the requirement of setting energy poverty alleviation objectives. Furthermore, the outlined energy-poverty-related policies and measures fail to provide systematic solutions to energy-poverty drivers, especially those solid fuel users' vulnerabilities. Hungary's general antiegalitarian policy environment and the weak design of energy poverty measures in the NECP suggest severe deficiency regarding a just energy transition guarantee. A just energy transition in Hungary is therefore endangered by the fact that EU energy poverty alleviation requirements fall under soft-law coordination mechanisms that make such requirements hardly enforceable in a member state with an antipoor policy bias that is reluctant to tackle energy poverty.