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

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.

Automated summary

Energy is essential for socioeconomic development, yet lack of access to sufficient energy can have severe impacts on well-being. Energy poverty is a complex issue with various dimensions that require comprehensive solutions addressing health, socioeconomic, and environmental impacts. Various approaches to measuring energy poverty and potential solutions, such as changes in living environments and new technologies, are discussed in the literature.