ABSTRACT

Living with Energy Poverty: Perspectives from the Global North and South expands our collective understanding of energy poverty and deepens our recognition of the phenomenon by engaging with the lived experiences of energy-poor households across different contexts.

Understanding the lived experience of energy poverty is an essential component in the design of any effort to alleviate what is fundamentally a deep-rooted, multi-faceted, wickedly complex problem. This requires a nuanced understanding of the causal factors and the research methods that can respond to the flexible spatial and temporal nature of the condition, as well as its wellbeing and justice implications. Drawing together the expertise and connectedness of authors from the Global South and North, this book presents novel approaches to understanding the often hidden forms of domestic energy deprivation. Case studies from 20 countries provide critical perspectives on this phenomenon while analysing the policy practices, government strategy, and sustainability implications of divergent manifestations. The book takes a multidimensional perspective, challenging the bias towards energy production and service provision, which often do not align with the aspirations and realities of energy households across global contexts, thus facilitating a useful dialogue on the nature of energy poverty.

The book is a timely source for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars seeking fresh, diverse insights into the everyday reality of energy poverty and wanting to better understand the challenges a people-centred, just energy transition can present.

Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at https://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at https://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Chapter 22 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at https://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

part |14 pages

Introduction

part I|76 pages

Methodological Approaches

chapter 4|11 pages

Unveiling Hidden Energy Poverty in a Time of Crisis

A Methodological Approach for National Statistics

chapter 5|13 pages

Reflections from Quantitative Characterisations of Energy Poverty in Mexico

Methods, Energy Justice, and Geographic Differences

chapter 7|13 pages

What Energy Poverty Looks Like

Methodological Insights from a Study in the Republic of Georgia

part II|98 pages

Lived Experiences

chapter 928|11 pages

Not Equal Before the Energy System

Can Energy Justice Principles Lift Women in Rural West Africa Out of Energy Poverty?

chapter 9|11 pages

Connected Yet Suffering

The Lived Experiences of Czech Households through Energy Service Provider Bankruptcies

chapter 13|11 pages

Too Cool or Too Hot

Thermal Comfort in Low-Income Homes and Lived Experiences of Energy Poverty in India and Austria

chapter 14|13 pages

Heating Deprivation in the Southern Cone

Sensitivities and Resilience Shaping the Vulnerability Experience

chapter 15|14 pages

Female Voices of Energy Deprivation

The Lived Experience of Energy Vulnerable Women in North Macedonia and Austria

part III|84 pages

Practices, Policies, and Sustainability

chapter 19|12 pages

From Energy Poverty to Vulnerability

A Discourse Analysis of the European Union's National Energy and Climate Plans

chapter 21|18 pages

A Burning Desire

Trying to Achieve SDG 7 and Improving Access to Cleaner Cooking Fuels in Rural Ghana