How have the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine affected energy poverty?

Abstract

Energy poverty is a complex, multifaceted problem which negatively affects many households around the world. Therefore, its mitigation is one of the most relevant policy goals for governments nowdays. The events of COVID-19, and the surge in energy prices due to the postpandemic recovery, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis worsened an already difficult situation for many citizens, increasing energy poverty. However, these detrimental effects on energy poverty are unlikely to have been homogenous across different household types, impacting some more than others. Although energy poverty in general and the determinants of energy poverty in particular are topics which have received attention from academics in the past, the analysis of the impact of those events on specific types of households has not. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of COVID, the post-pandemic recovery and the war in Ukraine on energy poverty through an analysis of their effects on different types of households and dwellings. Using a database of Spanish households in 2019 and 2022, and binary probit estimations, the results show that those household heads who are foreign nationals, females, older than 67 years, without education and with lower income levels and households with dependent children, whose members do not have a job and live in a detached dwelling, in a rented house, in a dwelling located in a cold region, in a rural area and in an old dwelling are more likely to be energy poor. Both events had a negative effect on energy poverty in very specific types of households: those in which the household head is a male, households whose members do not have a job, are older than 67 years, have children, are less educated, have lower income levels and live in detached dwellings. Analysing the most affected household types and most influential determinants of energy poverty is key to propose effective and efficient policy interventions which mitigate it. These findings call for the adoption of effective targeted policy interventions which focus on the factors that are more likely to reduce EP. They suggest that additional policy efforts to mitigate energy poverty should be put on specific households. • The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of COVID recovery and Ukraine war on energy poverty. • An analysis of their effects on different types of households and dwellings is performed. • A database of Spanish households in 2019 and 2022, and probit estimations are used. • Both events had a negative effect on energy poverty in very specific types of households. • Additional policy efforts to mitigate energy poverty are proposed.

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