Policy Brief No. 4: New narratives and actors for citizen-led energy poverty dialogues

The unfolding COVID-19 health and economic crisis are enlarging the breadth and depth of energy poverty (EP) – a significant form of household material deprivation that affected tens of millions of Europeans before the emergency onset in March 2020. Lockdowns and mobility restrictions established by public authorities underline the importance of housing and domestic energy as structural determinants of health and well-being.
In this context, the third policy brief of the ENGAGER Working Group 3 (WG3) highlights the need for enhanced stakeholder engagement around energy poverty and for renewed dialogue across the multiple sectors and actors involved. With this policy brief, we also advocate for emancipatory narratives that reveal the unjust social provisioning of essential services that the pandemic is making even more evident.