ABSTRACT
The case for retrofitting cities to reduce carbon emissions – especially from energy use in buildings (e.g. Boardman et al., 2005; Harvey, 2008; Power, 2008; Neuhoff et al., 2011c) – is compelling, but current and foreseeable technical and economic retrofit options could undermine social justice. Typical shallow retrofit measures – such as loft and cavity wall insulation – cannot eliminate energy poverty. Deeper measures can risk displacement of poorer populations through gentrification. Funding systems that rely on householder access to capital leave the poorest, and private-rented sector tenants in particular, further disadvantaged, while mechanisms that recoup the costs through general increases in energy bills can raise the incidence of energy poverty.
