The event “Empowering women to become active stakeholders in tackling summertime energy poverty” will take place within the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2023 on the 21 June from 17:30 – 19:00 CEST in the thematic block of »Affordability and inclusion«.
One in five European households cannot keep their dwelling comfortably cool in summer. With the heatwaves on the rise, the situation is likely to become even worse, hence more attention is needed for summertime energy poverty.
Deeply rooted inequalities, such as pay or pension gap, lower ownership of dwellings or social roles lead to women being more prone to summertime energy poverty than men. Analysis of EmpowerMed project actions to tackle energy poverty shows that women lack the decision-making power when it comes to energy. It also shows that women are more likely to have mental and physical health problems due to energy poverty.
Yet, women show a tendency to be a strong actor in tackling energy poverty as they embrace not only the ‘hard’ energy measures, but also the ‘soft’ ones (awareness raising…). Women are also the defenders of the right to energy in their homes and communities.
Public policy still does not recognize women as serious stakeholders, but this should change. Women should be put at the heart of the EU’s just energy transition to help ensuring that we leave no one behind.
You may register the European Sustainable Energy Week 2023 from here and add our session in the Agenda.
