IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v14y2021i10p2807-d554234.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Coping with Energy Poverty: Measurements, Drivers, Impacts, and Solutions

Author

Listed:
  • George E. Halkos

    (Department of Economics, University of Thessaly, 3833 Volos, Greece)

  • Eleni-Christina Gkampoura

    (Department of Economics, University of Thessaly, 3833 Volos, Greece)

Abstract

Energy is required for socioeconomic development, and the world’s energy needs have significantly increased in the last decades. The lack of energy can have severe impacts on a person’s well-being; therefore, energy access should be ensured for everyone in the world. Energy poverty usually refers to a situation where a household cannot be kept adequately warm, but it is a complex issue with many more aspects. This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the energy poverty problem, particularly presenting various definitions given in the literature that capture the multi-dimensional nature of the problem and analyzing the different ways of measuring energy poverty (expenditure approach and consensual approach). In addition, the impacts of the problem are identified, including health, socioeconomic, and environmental impacts, as well as the drivers that can worsen energy poverty conditions, such as several household characteristics and various socioeconomic and environmental factors. The situation occurring currently in the world is also presented, including studies that focus on different world regions, and the different solutions that can help address the problem are discussed, including changes to the living environments and the use of new technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • George E. Halkos & Eleni-Christina Gkampoura, 2021. "Coping with Energy Poverty: Measurements, Drivers, Impacts, and Solutions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:10:p:2807-:d:554234
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2807/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/10/2807/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlo Andrea Bollino & Fabrizio Botti, 2017. "Energy Poverty in Europe: A Multidimensional Approach," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 70(283), pages 449-472.
    2. Bhide, Anjali & Monroy, Carlos Rodríguez, 2011. "Energy poverty: A special focus on energy poverty in India and renewable energy technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 1057-1066, February.
    3. Stefan Bouzarovski & Saska Petrova & Sergio Tirado-Herrero, 2014. "From Fuel Poverty to Energy Vulnerability: The Importance of Services, Needs and Practices," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-25, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    4. Wang, Ke & Wang, Ya-Xuan & Li, Kang & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2015. "Energy poverty in China: An index based comprehensive evaluation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 308-323.
    5. Amie Gaye, 2007. "Access to Energy and Human Development," Human Development Occasional Papers (1992-2007) HDOCPA-2007-25, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    6. Pachauri, Shonali & Spreng, Daniel, 2011. "Measuring and monitoring energy poverty," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7497-7504.
    7. Li, Kang & Lloyd, Bob & Liang, Xiao-Jie & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2014. "Energy poor or fuel poor: What are the differences?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 476-481.
    8. Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana & Tirado Herrero, Sergio, 2012. "Building synergies between climate change mitigation and energy poverty alleviation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 83-90.
    9. Thomson, Harriet & Snell, Carolyn, 2013. "Quantifying the prevalence of fuel poverty across the European Union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 563-572.
    10. Abbas, Khizar & Li, Shixiang & Xu, Deyi & Baz, Khan & Rakhmetova, Aigerim, 2020. "Do socioeconomic factors determine household multidimensional energy poverty? Empirical evidence from South Asia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    11. Chakravarty, Shoibal & Tavoni, Massimo, 2013. "Energy poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation: Is there a trade off?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(S1), pages 67-73.
    12. Bouzarovski, Stefan & Petrova, Saska & Sarlamanov, Robert, 2012. "Energy poverty policies in the EU: A critical perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 76-82.
    13. Aldi Hagenaars & Klaas de Vos, 1988. "The Definition and Measurement of Poverty," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 23(2), pages 211-221.
    14. I. A. Vera & L. M. Langlois & H. H. Rogner & A. I. Jalal & F. L. Toth, 2005. "Indicators for sustainable energy development: An initiative by the International Atomic Energy Agency," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(4), pages 274-283, November.
    15. Halkos, George E. & Gkampoura, Eleni-Christina, 2021. "Evaluating the effect of economic crisis on energy poverty in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    16. Scarpellini, Sabina & Alexia Sanz Hernández, M. & Moneva, José M. & Portillo-Tarragona, Pilar & Rodríguez, María Esther López, 2019. "Measurement of spatial socioeconomic impact of energy poverty," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 320-331.
    17. Sambodo, Maxensius Tri & Novandra, Rio, 2019. "The state of energy poverty in Indonesia and its impact on welfare," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 113-121.
    18. Oscar S. Santillán & Karla G. Cedano & Manuel Martínez, 2020. "Analysis of Energy Poverty in 7 Latin American Countries Using Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, April.
    19. Okushima, Shinichiro, 2017. "Gauging energy poverty: A multidimensional approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 1159-1166.
    20. Kaygusuz, K., 2011. "Energy services and energy poverty for sustainable rural development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 936-947, February.
    21. Pachauri, S. & Mueller, A. & Kemmler, A. & Spreng, D., 2004. "On Measuring Energy Poverty in Indian Households," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2083-2104, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. George Halkos & Eleni-Christina Gkampoura, 2023. "Assessing Fossil Fuels and Renewables’ Impact on Energy Poverty Conditions in Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Patrick Mukumba & Shylet Y. Chivanga, 2023. "An Overview of Renewable Energy Technologies in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and the Rural Households’ Energy Poverty Coping Strategies," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, March.
    3. Huaquan Zhang & Yashuang Tang & Martinson Ankrah Twumasi & Abbas Ali Chandio & Lili Guo & Ruixin Wan & Shilei Pan & Yun Shen & Ghulam Raza Sargani, 2022. "The Effects of Ecological Public Welfare Jobs on the Usage of Clean Energy by Farmers: Evidence from Tibet Areas—China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Ágnes Győri & Ákos Huszár & Karolina Balogh, 2021. "Differences in the Domestic Energy Consumption in Hungary: Trends between 2006–2017," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-22, October.
    5. Siksnelyte-Butkiene, Indre & Streimikiene, Dalia & Balezentis, Tomas, 2022. "Addressing sustainability issues in transition to carbon-neutral sustainable society with multi-criteria analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PA).
    6. Blanka Tundys & Agnieszka Bretyn & Maciej Urbaniak, 2021. "Energy Poverty and Sustainable Economic Development: An Exploration of Correlations and Interdependencies in European Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-25, November.
    7. Halkos, George & Kitsos, Christos, 2024. "Measuring uncertainty, transfer entropy and G-causality In Environmental Economics," MPRA Paper 121764, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Cong Khai Dinh & Quang Thanh Ngo & Trung Thanh Nguyen, 2021. "Medium- and High-Tech Export and Renewable Energy Consumption: Non-Linear Evidence from the ASEAN Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-16, July.
    9. George E. Halkos & Panagiotis-Stavros C. Aslanidis, 2023. "Addressing Multidimensional Energy Poverty Implications on Achieving Sustainable Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-30, April.
    10. Bardazzi, Rossella & Charlier, Dorothée & Legendre, Berangère & Pazienza, Maria Grazia, 2023. "Energy vulnerability in Mediterranean countries: A latent class analysis approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    11. Shahzad, Umer & Gupta, Mansi & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Rao, Amar & Chopra, Ritika, 2022. "Resolving energy poverty for social change: Research directions and agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    12. Alonso-Epelde, E. & García-Muros, X. & González-Eguino, M., 2023. "Transport poverty indicators: A new framework based on the household budget survey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    13. Marta Postuła & Wojciech Chmielewski & Piotr Puczyński & Rafał Cieślik, 2021. "The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on Energy Poverty and Unemployment in Selected European Union Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, September.
    14. Janusz Reichel & Agata Rudnicka & Błażej Socha, 2023. "Energy Poverty—Do Energy Companies Care? Study Results from European Energy Companies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-15, September.
    15. Jarosław Gryz & Krzysztof Król & Anna Witkowska & Mariusz Ruszel, 2021. "Mobile Nuclear-Hydrogen Synergy in NATO Operations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-12, November.
    16. Ekonomou, George & Halkos, George, 2024. "Establishing a benchmarking approach in tourism organizations and destinations," MPRA Paper 121754, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Favourate Y. Mpofu, 2022. "Green Taxes in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges for Environmental Protection, Sustainability, and the Attainment of Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-26, August.
    18. Awan, Ashar & Bilgili, Faik & Rahut, Dil Bahadur, 2022. "Energy poverty trends and determinants in Pakistan: Empirical evidence from eight waves of HIES 1998–2019," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    19. Roberto Gerundo & Alessandra Marra, 2022. "A Decision Support Methodology to Foster Renewable Energy Communities in the Municipal Urban Plan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-22, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dong, Kangyin & Ren, Xiaohang & Zhao, Jun, 2021. "How does low-carbon energy transition alleviate energy poverty in China? A nonparametric panel causality analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    2. Recep Ulucak & Ramazan Sari & Seyfettin Erdogan & Rui Alexandre Castanho, 2021. "Bibliometric Literature Analysis of a Multi-Dimensional Sustainable Development Issue: Energy Poverty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.
    3. Dong, Kangyin & Jiang, Qingzhe & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Zhao, Jun, 2021. "Does low-carbon energy transition mitigate energy poverty? The case of natural gas for China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    4. Bezerra, Paula & Cruz, Talita & Mazzone, Antonella & Lucena, André F.P. & De Cian, Enrica & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2022. "The multidimensionality of energy poverty in Brazil: A historical analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    5. Tiwari, Sunil & Si Mohammed, Kamel & Guesmi, Khaled, 2023. "A way forward to end energy poverty in China: Role of carbon-cutting targets and net-zero commitments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    6. Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Nasir, Muhammad Ali, 2021. "An inquiry into the nexus between energy poverty and income inequality in the light of global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Shahzad, Umer & Gupta, Mansi & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Rao, Amar & Chopra, Ritika, 2022. "Resolving energy poverty for social change: Research directions and agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    8. Laldjebaev, Murodbek & Hussain, Azmat, 2021. "Significance of context, metrics and datasets in assessment of multidimensional energy poverty: A case study of Tajikistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    9. George E. Halkos & Panagiotis-Stavros C. Aslanidis, 2023. "Addressing Multidimensional Energy Poverty Implications on Achieving Sustainable Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-30, April.
    10. Lin, Boqiang & Wang, Yao, 2020. "Does energy poverty really exist in China? From the perspective of residential electricity consumption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    11. Yiming Xiao & Han Wu & Guohua Wang & Hong Mei, 2021. "Mapping the Worldwide Trends on Energy Poverty Research: A Bibliometric Analysis (1999–2019)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-22, February.
    12. Halkos, George E. & Gkampoura, Eleni-Christina, 2021. "Evaluating the effect of economic crisis on energy poverty in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    13. Sadath, Anver C. & Acharya, Rajesh H., 2017. "Assessing the extent and intensity of energy poverty using Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index: Empirical evidence from households in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 540-550.
    14. Lan, Jing & Khan, Sufyan Ullah & Sadiq, Muhammad & Chien, Fengsheng & Baloch, Zulfiqar Ali, 2022. "Evaluating energy poverty and its effects using multi-dimensional based DEA-like mathematical composite indicator approach: Findings from Asia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    15. Zhao, Jun & Jiang, Qingzhe & Dong, Xiucheng & Dong, Kangyin, 2021. "Assessing energy poverty and its effect on CO2 emissions: The case of China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    16. Agnieszka Biernat-Jarka & Paulina Trębska & Sławomir Jarka, 2021. "The Role of Renewable Energy Sources in Alleviating Energy Poverty in Households in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    17. Wang, Yao & Lin, Boqiang, 2022. "Can energy poverty be alleviated by targeting the low income? Constructing a multidimensional energy poverty index in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    18. Liu, Zhong & Zhou, Zuanjiu & Liu, Chang, 2023. "Estimating the impact of rural centralized residence policy interventions on energy poverty in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    19. Stefan Bouzarovski & Saska Petrova & Sergio Tirado-Herrero, 2014. "From Fuel Poverty to Energy Vulnerability: The Importance of Services, Needs and Practices," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-25, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    20. Dong, Kangyin & Dou, Yue & Jiang, Qingzhe, 2022. "Income inequality, energy poverty, and energy efficiency: Who cause who and how?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:10:p:2807-:d:554234. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.