Reports & Books

Efforts to address the contemporary climate and energy-related challenges towards a green, inclusive, and fair transition by 2050 require the empowerment and engagement of citizens and other societal actors, as has been duly acknowledged within the recent European Union’s strategic and legislative frameworks. Citizens are anticipated to expand their role as self-consumers and contributors within energy communities, actively shaping alterations in the energy landscape, impacting both demand and supply. As a result, in recent years the concept of “energy citizenship” has emerged and gained considerable attention due to its potential to bridge the gap between energy transition policies and social…

Energy poverty is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon caused by various factors. It is defined as a situation in which households are unable to access essential energy services and products. Despite widespread recognition and discussion of the topic, there are still several gaps in knowledge and practice. One aspect of energy poverty that remains largely unexplored in Europe is rural energy poverty, receiving limited attention despite being more prevalent than in urban contexts. Additionally, in the pursuit of a clean and just transition, rural areas in Europe are often left behind, even though rural populations are at a significantly higher…

The purpose of the European Commission-funded LIFE Programme RENOVERTY project is to increase energy efficiency address and energy poverty in vulnerable rural districts in Central Eastern, Southern Eastern and Southern Europe. The latter will be achieved by setting the methodological and practical framework for the co-development of individual tailor-made Renovation Energy Efficiency Roadmaps to address the needs of energy poor households in the regions under study, with the contribution of all actors involved in the energy efficiency value chain. This report aims to contribute to this objective by expanding RENOVERTY activities, coupling the strengths of energy system modelling with qualitative…

Efforts to address the contemporary climate and energy-related challenges towards a green, inclusive, and fair transition by 2050, require the empowerment and engagement of citizens and other societal actors, as has been duly acknowledged within the recent European Union’s strategic and legislative frameworks. Citizens are anticipated to expand their role as self-consumers and contributors within energy communities, actively shaping alterations in the energy landscape, impacting both demand and supply. As a result, in recent years the concept of “energy citizenship” has emerged and gained considerable attention due to its potential to bridge the gap between energy transition policies and social…

Energy poverty is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon caused by various factors. Despite widespread recognition and discussion of the topic, there are still several gaps in knowledge and practice. One aspect of energy poverty that remains largely unexplored in Europe is rural energy poverty, receiving limited attention despite being more prevalent than in urban contexts. Additionally, in the pursuit of a clean and just transition, rural areas in Europe are often left behind, even though rural populations are at a significantly higher risk of facing poverty and social exclusion. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE),…

Efforts to address the contemporary climate and energy-related challenges towards a green, inclusive, and fair transition by 2050, require the empowerment and engagement of citizens and other societal actors, as has been duly acknowledged within the recent European Union’s strategic and legislative frameworks. Citizens are anticipated to expand their role as self-consumers and contributors within energy communities, actively shaping alterations in the energy landscape, impacting both demand and supply. As a result, in recent years the concept of energy citizenship has emerged and gained considerable attention due to its potential to bridge the gap between energy transition policies and social…

“Split incentives” refer to any situation where the benefits of a transaction do not accrue to the actor who pays for the transaction. In the context of energy efficiency in buildings, split incentives are linked with cost recovery issues related to energy efficiency upgrade investments due to the failure of distributing effectively financial obligations and rewards of these investments between concerned actors. Especially, when it comes to the Private Rented Sector (PRS), existing literature identifies “split incentives” among landlords and tenants, as one of the main barriers when implementing energy efficiency policies to tackle energy poverty. Moreover, in most European…

Advancements in smart technologies and their integration in the building sector allow buildings to consume, produce, store and supply energy, and to contribute to a more flexible and efficient energy system, by enhancing the integration of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed resources. The smartness of a building refers to its ability to sense, interpret, communicate and actively respond in an efficient manner to changing conditions in relation to the operation of technical building systems, the external environment, and the demands of building occupants. In 2018, the EPBD was revised to further promote smart building technologies and particularly to include…

Studies have found that across Europe, household energy consumption varies according to a number of demographic factors, including gender, yet energy policy at pan-European, national and regional levels continues to be designed for a “gender-neutral” energy consumer.  Nevertheless, pervasive gender inequality in society, gendered care responsibilities and household labour, lower incomes and the higher likelihood of being a single parent were identified as key drivers of energy poverty amongst women across Europe. Current policy barriers were highlighted as being a dearth of sex-disaggregated multi-scalar data on gender and energy poverty, a lack of awareness of gender disparities, inaccessibility and untargeted…

This updated report examines the structural barriers preventing investment in energy efficiency measures in Europe’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) housing stock. The analysis is undertaken with reference to the broader trends in private renting, the regulatory landscape that currently exists, and the need to reduce social vulnerability and income poverty more generally. An introduction detailing historical and geographical trends in Europe, using case studies and elaborating upon research and policy analysis from previous ENPOR project reports, serves to provide the starting point of the review. Following desk-based reviews of academic and grey literature, we identified Financial, Political/Regulatory, Social, and Geographical…

This report analyses and assesses policies and measures that address energy poverty in the private rented sector (PRS) across Europe. We review intervention strategies aimed at reducing energy poverty in private rented properties, particularly scrutinising policies targeting vulnerable households in the sector. The overarching objective is to investigate the content, aim, and structure of PRS policies in this domain, noting key patterns in the coverage, distribution, and delivery of such initiatives. As a result, the review identifies some of the wider structural challenges in the type of support currently available to energy poor households. Policies have been identified on the…