{"id":24586,"date":"2022-11-24T01:03:30","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T00:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/?p=24586"},"modified":"2023-02-08T11:22:22","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T10:22:22","slug":"energy-insecurity-europeans-ask-the-ecb-and-the-states-to-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/en\/2022\/11\/24\/energy-insecurity-europeans-ask-the-ecb-and-the-states-to-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy poverty: Europeans ask the ECB and the States to act"},"content":{"rendered":"

On French Energy Poverty Day, Reclaim Finance and the YouGov Institute publish the results of a survey conducted in four EU countries (1) that highlights the role of building renovation in meeting the expectations and fears of Europeans, and the obstacles and solutions to encourage its deployment. The survey reveals that paying electricity and heating bills is an immediate concern for most Europeans surveyed, especially for low-income households and large families. Home improvements such as better insulation are a popular solution to this problem, but the costs remain a major obstacle. To remove this obstacle, Europeans support both the deployment of subsidies and interest-free loans. They are calling on the European Central Bank (ECB) \u2013 which is responsible for managing inflation in the euro zone – to play its part by supporting the energy transition. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Electricity and heating bills: households are worried<\/h1><\/span>
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0<\/span>%<\/span><\/div>
of the respondents in the survey think they will have difficulty paying their electricity bills and\/or heating their home this winter.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Half of the respondents in the survey think they will have difficulty paying their electricity bills and\/or heating their home this winter (2). The lower the household income, the higher the proportion of people fearing these difficulties. More than 70% for households with an annual gross income of less than 15,000 euros, 60% below 25,000 euros, and less than 50% above 35,000 euros fear they will have difficulties. Similarly, bigger households are more likely to be worried. While less than half of households with 1 to 2 people think they will have difficulties, this increases to 55-56% for households with 3 to 5 people, and 64 and 74% respectively for households with 6 and 7 people.<\/p>\n

The situation is similar in France. 48% of French respondents fear not being able to heat their homes or pay their bills (3). This increases to 62% for households with an average gross annual income below 20,000 euros, 52% between 20,000 and 40,000 euros and 33% above 40,000 euros. It increases from 57% to 87% when the number of people in the household increases from 4 to 7, with an average of 76% for households with more than 5 people.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Massive support for building improvements: a must have<\/h1><\/span>
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76% of respondents agree that the public authorities should provide significant support for building improvements to respond to the energy crisis and fight inflation. This percentage is 83% among people who fear they will struggle to pay their bills and\/or heat their home this winter. It also remains very high, at 72%, among people who are less concerned. Overall, a significant majority of respondents support renovation, regardless of location, income or household size.<\/p>\n

In France, 82% of respondents support major public intervention for building renovation (4), including 86% of people who fear difficulties this winter and 82% of people who do not have this fear.<\/p>\n<\/div>