What Causes Energy and Transport Poverty in Ireland? Analyzing the Demographic, Economic, and Social Dynamics and Policy Solutions

Lowans, Christopher; Foley, Aoife; Rio, Dylan D. Furszyfer Del; Caulfield, Brian; Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Griffiths, Steve; Rooney, David

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4112251

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Both are increasingly relevant in Energy poverty has gradually entered national and regional policy agendas in Europe, reflected in regulatory documents and policy proposals, but its combination with transport poverty remains neglected. We advance here a notion of combined energy and transport poverty, or 'double energy vulnerability,' which denotes the situation of experiencing energy poverty and transport poverty at the same time 16,17 ; it is most likely to affect people with low incomes, those people who are older, households with children or dependents, people with pre-existing health conditions or disabilities, women and people from ethnic minorities [18][19][20] . Measures to alleviate energy and transport poverty can be viewed as a form of social welfare (protection) policy, such that understanding public support for the former will probably benefit from an understanding of the latter.…”

Section: Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Policy prescriptions to address energy and transport poverty in the United Kingdom

et al. 2023

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Tens of millions of households across Europe struggle to afford adequate electricity and heating services and reliable transportation, while recent high fuel prices could lead to an increase in excess winter deaths. Tackling energy and transport poverty is thus of paramount policy importance. Here we document the drivers and lived experiences of energy and transport poverty in the United Kingdom, based on public focus groups and expert interviews. We find a set of policies that resonate with both expert planners and members of the public, implying they have a level of political and social acceptability that other measures may be lacking, notably: mandatory landlord energy efficiency upgrades, increasing the extent of financial assistance to households, cheaper (or even free) bus and train fares and restarting and expanding bus services. We buttress these findings with further suggestions for energy and transport system redesign that better meets emerging principles of energy and social justice.

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