Evaluating the effect of economic crisis on energy poverty in Europe

Abstract

Energy poverty is an issue that concerns developing as well as developed countries and its mitigation is essential for social welfare. European countries are also affected by energy poverty problems and lately policy-makers are trying to address this issue, especially after the recent economic crisis. In order for strategies and policies implementation to be effective, it is important that energy poverty is measured and evaluated. In this paper, energy poverty is examined for the time-period 2004–2019 for 28 selected European countries, using a consensual approach and a composite measurement, based on the main indicators proposed in the literature. The Scandinavian countries are found to have the lowest levels of energy poverty, while the highest levels have been observed in Bulgaria and in the Balkans in general throughout the whole studied time-period. In addition, the drivers of energy poverty conditions are identified; electricity prices were found to be the main driving force for all three main indicators, while unemployment and the percentage of people at risk of poverty followed, for certain indicators. GDP per capita is found to be linked with an inverse relationship with issues related to energy poverty, confirming thus that the economic recession affected energy poverty conditions in Europe. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd