Publications

This publication brings these dimensions to life through a set of pioneering projects that show what works on the ground.

This FRA report shows why a human rights based approach is essential for a just EU climate and energy transition. It examines how energy renovation policies affect the right to housing and equal access to affordable, sustainable energy, and where current frameworks leave people behind. Drawing on evidence from across Member States, the report highlights promising practices that help reach vulnerable groups, protect tenants and make renovations accessible in practice. It offers concrete insights for policymakers designing and implementing energy transition policies that are both climate effective and rights compliant.

The inability to maintain adequate indoor cooling is not just an energy or comfort issue, but also important for public health and economic productivity. Our analysis reveals that by 2023, more than a quarter of households in the EU as a whole resided in dwellings, which were not comfortably cool in the summer. There are significant gaps in being exposed to cooling poverty across various socio-demographic and socio-economic groups. Our findings underlines the importance of prioritising vulnerable groups while promoting sustainable and efficient cooling solutions as the key policy recommendations.

This policy brief provides national policymakers and implementing authorities with a concise guide to the EU’s provisions on energy poverty and how these requirements interact across legislation. 

How can social business models help fight energy poverty? The POWER UP final brochure shares practical lessons from six European countries, offering clear guidance for cities and practitioners developing inclusive, people-centred energy solutions.

The EPAH Leaflet summarises the main mission and vision, audiences and work areas of initiative from 2024 to 2028.

How did municipalities and social justice advocates in 6 countries create a blueprint for energy services that benefit the most vulnerable? What were their replication strategies and activities to make sure others would be able to use the learnings without having to reinvent the wheel?

This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access - A unique perspective on electricity capitalism with a focus on the global South - Includes a diversity of case studies spanning four continents - Discusses the importance of electricity capitalism to the global South ene

This guidebook provides local governments with methodological support for the development of sustainable energy and climate action plans and focuses on the energy poverty assessment

Discover how pilot schemes have been implemented by four municipalities to provide access to vulnerable households with renewables. It covers four main aspects for each pilot: the technical, legal, and governance aspects of the project, as well as the key challenges encountered during implementation. The diverse approaches and the lessons learned may be inspiring for other initiatives on renewable energy services for vulnerable people.

Review of 68 energy poverty assessment approaches published in recent scientific literature and selected grey literature from EU projects and initiatives to identify the datasets, indicators, and practices that can be leveraged to build a comprehensive and robust energy poverty assessment

A new report from the HouseInc project examines how smart meter data can improve the measurement and identification of energy poverty, offering an alternative to traditional survey-based methods.

This new publication by the ComActivate project offers an in-depth analysis of EU and national policies addressing energy poverty and building renovation.

Disadvantaged communities in both the EU and the US are disproportionately affected by energy poverty, pollution, and poor housing conditions. New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) stands out with its legal requirement that at least 35%—and a goal of 40%—of climate investments benefit disadvantaged communities. The New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act: Lessons for Shaping an Inclusive Energy Transition in the EU explores how this investment mandate has shaped policies in building renovation, clean heating and cooling, community energy, and workforce development—and what Europe can learn to ensure its green transition leaves no one behind.

The roadmaps offer adaptable frameworks for rural municipalities to address building renovation, energy poverty, and carbon footprint reduction in ways that are both practical and community-focused.

The aim of the POWER UP national guides is to support interested stakeholders (such as cities, municipalities, citizens and citizen energy communities, and municipal companies) to develop a social energy model by following the activities developed as part of the POWER UP project. 

Drawing upon the experiences of six municipalities involved in the POWER UP project, this report produced by University of Manchester presents policy recommendations framed at both, the local and national level. The policy recommendations were co-developed with the project partners, pilots, and researchers from the University of Manchester, UK, involved in POWER UP. The policy recommendations cover a range of topics – including definitions of energy communities, technical regulations, funding mechanisms, and planning procedures. The recommendations also address a number of stakeholders, including municipality departments, community organisations, and regulatory actors.

This policy brief corresponds to the WELLBASED second action field, Effective Governance to implement urban programs against energy poverty through health lenses, using a Health in All Policies approach

This policy brief corresponds to the third section, Capacity Building. This section provides concrete tools and methodologies designed to increase the capacity level of key stakeholders in addressing energy poverty.

This policy brief corresponds to the fourth section, Monitoring and Evaluation. It provides policy recommendations for monitoring energy poverty and health metrics, along with assessing the impact of integrated policies and interventions.

This policy brief corresponds to the fifth section, Funding. It provides recommendations and insights into funding schemes to address energy poverty with a focus on health, drawing primarily from the financial models examined within WELLBASED.