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Energy saving schemes need better targeting at poorest households, experts say
(EurActiv, 9 Dec 2021) The ongoing energy price crisis has exposed the vulnerability of low-income households, many of whom struggle to access financial support, experts said in a roundtable organised last week (2 December) by the Brussels-based Coalition for Energy Savings.
Gas and power prices have skyrocketed across Europe in recent months, impacting discussions on the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ package of climate and energy legislation tabled in July by the European Commission.
With its ‘Renovation Wave’ strategy released last year, the EU executive has tabled ambitious plans to revamp the EU’s building stock and at least double the bloc’s renovation rate, which currently stands at just 1% annually.
That would benefit the bloc’s most vulnerable households the most, as it is the poorest consumers who often live in the oldest and least energy-efficient homes.
But financial support schemes to renovate buildings and increase energy savings are not targeted enough, often leaving poor households behind, a panel organised by the Coalition for Energy Savings heard last week.
“We need this support to be targeted as well, in a way that I just don’t think we’ve really done at European level,” said Louise Sunderland, Senior Advisor at the Regulatory Assistance Project, a non-profit group dedicated to accelerating the energy transition.
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EurActiv, 9 Dec 2021: Energy saving schemes need better targeting at poorest households, experts say
