According to the latest study issued by the Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe), Eastern and Central European countries are still affected by energy poverty and local governments have not done enough to address this issue.
The authors of the report assessed the level of energy poverty, a state often referred to as the “inability to keep homes adequately warm”, in six EU member countries – Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The report indicates that none of these countries had managed to eliminate the very basic reasons for energy poverty. Moreover, none apart from Czech Republic have introduced a long-term renovation strategy to build an energy-efficient economy and undertake decarbonization.
Energy poverty remains a serious problem for all the above-mentioned countries.
In Slovenia, 22.7% people live in houses with leaking roofs, damp walls, and floors or rotten window frames, according to the report.
In 2017, 17.5% Croatians were unable to pay their energy bills on time due to financial difficulties, whereas the EU average for households finding themselves in this situation is 6.6%.
In turn, Slovakia has one of the highest levels of energy spending by households with their citizens having to allocate 23.4% of their income to cover energy bills.
In the Czech Republic, the long-term renovation strategy aimed at decarbonization and the energy-efficient economy does not include a review of the measures that could be taken to tackle the energy poverty that seriously affects coal-reliant regions such as Ústecký and Moravskoslezský.
CAN Europe estimates that, in 2018, 7.7% of the Croatian population were unable to keep their homes appropriately warm whereas the EU average is 7.3%. In the Czech Republic, this problem affected 2.8% of households and 6% in Hungary in 2019. In Poland, in 2017, 10% of households were affected by energy poverty which represents 3.35 million people.
Energy poverty mostly refers to heating and, according to Eurostat data from 2018, 7% of Poles lived in homes that were not adequately warm. In Slovakia, this problem affects 7.8% of population and this has increased significantly from 2014 when it was only 4.4%. Data from Slovenia indicates that energy poverty and the inability to keep houses adequately warm affects low-income households but it is difficult to assess the exact number of those affected since Slovakia does not align with the official definition of energy poverty.
The authors of the report appealed to the European Commission to devise a financial program which would cover the renovation costs of those houses affected by energy poverty. They also called on the governments of Eastern and Central European countries to urgently address the issue of energy poverty as many people have been forced to live in houses which are affected by this due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns.
CAN Europe recommends that the needs of the poorest households are addressed and should rely on energy efficiency and renewable energy as well as houses that require refurbishment to make them more energy-efficient being attended to.
Martha Myers-Lowe, an energy poverty activist from Friends of the Earth Europe, one of the contributors to the study, commented that the financial crisis triggered by the pandemic has worsened energy poverty by shrinking the income of the poorest Europeans meaning that they cannot afford to pay their energy bills. Furthermore, the countries mentioned in the report have clearly failed to manage or address the prevalent energy poverty experienced by their citizens and thus are still struggling to achieve the EU minimum levels.
The report mentions the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and recovery package (Next Generation EU) as “an opportunity to change the course on energy poverty and increase investments in energy efficiency, renewables and buildings renovation”.
