@article{1a62deb70caa457aa07c599f869759fb,
title = "What causes energy and transport poverty in Ireland? Analysing demographic, economic, and social dynamics, and policy implications",
abstract = "Energy and transport poverty have been postulated as conditions linked by overlapping causal factors such as structural economic inequality or housing stock and affecting overlapping demographics such as family size or income. The strength of the overlap of these conditions and their causal mechanisms has not been assessed across Ireland prior to this study. We apply and analyse existing and novel energy and transport poverty metrics in a survey of 1564 participants across Ireland and consider results from expenditure and consensual data examining causal mechanisms and correlations. We find that energy and transport poverty rates are broadly similar across Ireland at approximately 14% for energy poverty and 18% for transport poverty using the half-median metric, while participant knowledge of causal factors, such as lack of domestic energy efficiency and perceived desirability of potential poverty solutions, such as increased public transport provision, are low. Furthermore, we find that self-reported data concerning energy and transport expenditures and preferences do not correspond to expected outcomes. We thus conclude that ever refined targeting of individuals and households for support measures is not optimal for either decarbonisation or alleviation of energy and transport poverty conditions and suggest some salient policy implications.",
keywords = "Covid-19, Energy poverty, Ireland, Nationally representative survey, Transport poverty",
author = "Christopher Lowans and Aoife Foley and {Del Rio}, {Dylan Furszyfer} and Brian Caulfield and Sovacool, {Benjamin K.} and Steven Griffiths and David Rooney",
note = "Funding Information: Mr Christopher Lowans and Dr Aoife Foley's research is supported by the Department for the Economy (DfE), Northern Ireland. The views and opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect those of DfE. Dr. Dylan Furszyfer del Rio, Dr Steve Griffiths and Professor Benjamin Sovacool gratefully acknowledge financial support from UK Research and Innovation through the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, grant reference number EP/R035288/1, as well as Khalifa University of Science and Technology “High Impact Grant.{"} Funding Information: In the literature concerning the alleviation of energy poverty, access to support measures for those in energy poverty to undertake building fabric upgrades is seen as nearly essential. Middlemiss and Gillard find that social housing providers are the most common source of lasting built fabric improvements, and that most respondents would not consider debt mechanisms to improve their dwelling fabric (Middlemiss and Gillard, 2015). It is noted that in similar research for the Scottish Government, most participants{\textquoteright} awareness about the availability of support is low, and few believe that they require help or advice and thus would not actively seek either (Ipsos MORI Scotland and Alembic Research Ltd., 2020).It is widely recognised that national domestic retrofit programs, active travel schemes and improvement of public transport services are among the measures required for meeting decarbonisation targets and at deployment rates exceeding what is currently observed. With continued locally devolved selection of support recipients, the more widely defined and identified energy or transport poor can be the first to access the support schemes or necessary infrastructure. As we have noted, many transport poverty barriers are infrastructural which require solutions in the built environment. Improved and sustainable public transport and active travel schemes should thus be the focus of transport policy efforts. Furthermore, and as noted in the discussion, debt mechanisms are the least attractive means of support for the energy poor (and by analogy, the same could be said of the transport poor). In many cases, respondents were not inclined to acquire technologies that may ameliorate their energy and/or transport poverty situation. Therefore, as a final policy implication of this work, and building on other literature, support measures should not pose a debt burden to vulnerable households and should be large enough to enact lasting change rather than merely lessening the financial burden of consumption of contemporary energy and transport services.Mr Christopher Lowans and Dr Aoife Foley's research is supported by the Department for the Economy (DfE), Northern Ireland. The views and opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect those of DfE. Dr. Dylan Furszyfer del Rio, Dr Steve Griffiths and Professor Benjamin Sovacool gratefully acknowledge financial support from UK Research and Innovation through the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, grant reference number EP/R035288/1, as well as Khalifa University of Science and Technology “High Impact Grant.{"} Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors",
year = "2023",
month = jan,
doi = "10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113313",
language = "British English",
volume = "172",
journal = "Energy Policy",
issn = "0301-4215",
publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",
}