European energy poverty metrics: Scales, prospects and limits

Sareen, Siddharth; Thomson, Harriet; Herrero, Sergio Tirado; Gouveia, João Pedro; Lippert, Ingmar; Lis, Aleksandra

doi:10.1016/j.glt.2020.01.003

Cited by 113 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Different researchers provide different responses to the measurement challenge, with Castaño-Rosa et al [19] arguing in favour of a multi-indicator approach that distinguishes among "indicators based on household income and expenses; those based on self-reported household conditions; and initiatives for the assessment of the risk" (p. 45) of energy poverty. Acknowledging that "no measurement is perfect" (p. 14), Sareen et al [74] claim that policy action in its very essence cannot encompass or address all varieties of energy poverty. The authors seek to problematize measurement practices in this domain, while emphasizing the politics of data and scale in the institutionalization of data and metrics.…”

Section: Energy Poverty In Europe: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: A Research and Policy Agenda

Bouzarovski

Thomson

Cornelis³

2021

Energies

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129

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This paper scrutinizes existing policy efforts to address energy poverty at the governance scale of the European Union (EU) and its constituent Member States. Our main starting point is the recent expansion of energy poverty policies at the EU level, fuelled by the regulatory provisions of the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package, as well as the establishment of an EU Energy Poverty Observatory. Aided by a systematic and customized methodology, we survey the extensive scientific body of work that has recently been published on the topic, as well as the multiple strategies and measures to address energy poverty that have been formulated across the EU. This includes the principal mitigation approaches adopted by key European and national institutions. We develop a framework to judge the distributional and procedural justice provisions within the recently adopted National Energy and Climate Plans, as an indicator of the power, ability and resolve of relevant institutions to combat the causes and consequences of energy injustice. We also provide a research and policy agenda for future action, highlighting a series of scientific and decision-making challenges in the European and global context.

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Section: Energy Poverty In Europe: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: A Research and Policy Agenda

Bouzarovski

Thomson

Cornelis³

2021

Energies

Self Cite

129

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“…Thus, any exercise of quantification demands an ethics to situate it within a given social context, not least because quantification acts in reflexive relation to the object and the environment that is quantified (Sareen et al, 2020;Saltelli, 2020).…”

Section: Ethical Dilemmas In the Societal Legitimation Of Quantificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics of quantification: illumination, obfuscation and performative legitimation

2020

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The increasing use of quantification in all spheres of society is paralleled by the rise of digitalisation. These intertwining developments not only revolutionise data treatment, but also its societal effects. On the one hand, they have wonderfully enabling societal effects. On the other hand, they give rise to complex ethical dilemmas that motivate this call for an ethics of quantification. The central claim of this Comment is that quantification necessarily has two faces: illumination and obfuscation. Aspects that can be socially legitimated are illuminated, while those that cannot be so legitimated are obfuscated. This obfuscation poses ethical problems, hence its effects require rigorous analysis. Three ontologies of quantification are delineated to enable such examination: (i) as the disembodied practice of data processing in the 'ether'-this foregrounds elements of big data and artificial intelligence; (ii) as the situated practice and effects of quantification within societal contexts-this attends to governing subjects through numbers; and (iii) as increasingly incorporated in physical reality-this focuses on governmentality of behaviours and behavioural change as mediated through everyday objects through an 'Internet of Things'. Drawing on scholarship from the emerging sociology of quantification, the ethics of quantification is defined as the iterative illumination of obfuscation in legitimation by quantification. This is key for ensuring contextually desirable illuminating functions of quantification in all three ontologies.

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“…There are several general methods of measuring energy deprivation, each of which is based on different understandings of the need for energy consumption, as well as for the need to ensure clear standards. Each measurement method privileges some realities while hiding other (Sareen et al 2020), therefore there is an ongoing debate about the proper measurements (Thomson, Bouzarovski, and Snell 2017;Teschner et al 2020;Papada and Kaliampakos 2020;Bădescu et al 2017). Moreover, as a general rule, they are used according to the purpose of the proposed policies, not the other way around (focusing on an accurate and inclusive measurements followed by evidence-based policy).…”

Section: Conceptualisations and Measurements Of Energy Poverty The Gmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, compression of energy needs is widely considered an indicator or hidden energy poverty (Betto, Garengo, and Lorenzoni 2020), as is the fact that some people who restrain their energy use find it both acceptable and normal to feel too hot or too cold in their home (Horta et al 2019). Therefore, efforts for a contextual identification of hidden indicators can result in more inclusive measures (Sareen et al 2020).…”

Section: Conceptualisations and Measurements Of Energy Poverty The Gmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering these circumstances, definition choices used in legislation documents can hinder efforts in developing appropriate strategies (Bădescu et al 2017). Focusing mostly on individual socioeconomic characteristics of vulnerable consumers, without addressing the social aspects of energy poverty is an indicator of an energy governance marked by data politics (Sareen et al 2020). In many cases, the main argument for this focus is lack of available data.…”

Section: Conceptualisations and Measurements Of Energy Poverty The Gmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ambiguities of energy poverty and the search for “hidden energy transfers”. A review of energy vulnerability narratives

Tufă

2020

RCV

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Several gaps in the conceptual and empirical knowledge of energy poverty have developed during recent years. This article aims to depict these inconsistencies, as well as to undertake a brief analysis of the current state of the practices and policies that build around this concept. The way energy use in household consumption contributes or not to the development and reproduction of energy poverty will be addressed though a short analysis of how different definitions employed succeed to measure energy deprivation, as well as of how these definitions are engaged as practicalities in different social contexts. To meet this purpose, I use data from European Quality of Life Survey 2003–2016, Eurostat, and EU Buildings Database, and I also focus on narratives around energy vulnerability, traced in several policy documents. This is relevant in order to highlight gaps and ambiguities that will illustrate the links between the macrosocial layouts of the geographical and political distribution of energy for residential consumption and the scaled-down realities of energy consumption in households. Patterns of energy use are influenced by access to adequate and sufficient energy sources for home maintenance and for increasing housing quality, as well as by the other variables related to the dynamics of knowledge of efficient energy sources, the evolution of the purpose of energy policies, and the holding of energy assessment strategies for household consumption. Furthermore, to advance the understanding of energy poverty mechanisms, as well as practices around energy use, a new concept of “hidden energy transfers” is proposed as an analytical tool that highlights the social embeddedness of energy, particularly how social connectedness is vital for the energy deprived households. As demonstrated, the concept builds upon previous studies and can address a more inclusive and contextual understanding of coping strategies around energy deprivation and energy poverty, that considers not only behaviours within the household, but also those outside of it. Keywords: energy poverty; energy justice; energy vulnerability; hidden energy transfers; energy literacy.

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European energy poverty metrics: Scales, prospects and limits

Cited by 113 publications

References 64 publications

Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: A Research and Policy Agenda

Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: A Research and Policy Agenda

Ethics of quantification: illumination, obfuscation and performative legitimation

Ambiguities of energy poverty and the search for “hidden energy transfers”. A review of energy vulnerability narratives

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