Page 12 - European Energy Innovation - winter 2018 publication

12 Winter 2018 European Energy Innovation

ENERGY POVERTY

A Clean Planet for all?
Energy poverty and
decarbonising Europe's economy

By Pierre Jean Coulon, President & Kristian Krieger, Policy Officer Energy
Section Transport, Energy, Infrastructure, Information Society of the European Economic
and Social Committee
and ongoing public debate would – in made significant contributions to a
Two publications have been our view – benefit from a more wide- shared and extended understanding
making the headlines ranging discussion of the implications of energy poverty by analysing
ahead of the global climate of the urgency and of different indicators for measuring energy
negotiations of COP24 in
Poland. The International Panel on pathways on energy justice, including poverty and ensuring the recognition

Climate Change (IPCC) released in particular the challenge of energy of additional groups to be at risk of

its report on the impact of global poverty. Not discussing these aspects energy poverty.

warming of 1.5 degree Celsius in early carries the risk of leaving parts of

October, highlighting the expected Europe's population behind, creating The European Economic and

severe impact on natural life and a "prosperous, modern, competitive Social Committee (EESC) played

human societies in case of a warming and climate neutral economy" but an instrumental role in the growing

of two degrees Celsius. This report not for all. interest and institutional response

was followed in late-November by to energy poverty at the European

the European Commission's long- It is in this context that the work level. As early as 2001, one of the

term strategy for greenhouse gas undertaken by the EU Energy consultative bodies of the Committee

reduction, in which the Commission Poverty Observatory (EPOV) seems issued an opinion on climate change

spells out its ambition to make particularly important. The EPOV and emissions trading specifically

Europe carbon neutral by 2050. was launched by the European highlighting the risk of fuel poverty,

Commission in January 2018 with thereby introducing this issue to the

Both reports offer important insights a mandate to generate and gather European policy discussions. More

into the urgency and complexity knowledge about energy poverty and recently, in 2013, the EESC advocated

of the transition to low-carbon ways to effectively fight this major for "coordinated European measures

economies. While reflecting on problem. Energy poverty affects, after to prevent and combat energy

social aspects of different transition all, more than one in ten European poverty", proposing – among other

pathways to some extent, the reports households. The EPOV has already ideas such as the establishment

of a comprehensive EU Energy

Solidarity Fund – the setting-up of

Pierre Jean Coulon Kristian Krieger the now existing EU Energy Poverty

Observatory.

However, with this opinion, the EESC's
work to battle energy poverty has not
ended. Rather, the Committee – as
the house of Europe's organized civil
society – endeavours to (help)
mobilize the knowledge and
resources of civil society for this
struggle.

Concretely, the Committee has
developed a positive vision of
Europe's energy future in which

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