{"id":10922,"date":"2018-02-13T02:03:45","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T01:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibs.org.pl\/events\/public-policy-against-energy-poverty-in-poland-possible-interventions-and-their-social-impact\/"},"modified":"2023-01-02T00:57:58","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T23:57:58","slug":"public-policy-against-energy-poverty-in-poland-possible-interventions-and-their-social-impact","status":"publish","type":"events","link":"https:\/\/ibs.org.pl\/en\/events\/public-policy-against-energy-poverty-in-poland-possible-interventions-and-their-social-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Public policy against energy poverty in Poland. Possible interventions and their social impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is impossible to effectively improve air quality in Poland, if energy poverty is not dealt with intensively<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 said Deputy Minister Piotr Wo\u017any during a panel discussion in the last part of a seminar that we organized. We presented and discussed in a public debate the latest results concerning the scale of energy poverty in Poland, characteristics of the group most affected by the problem, and solution proposals. Experts from France and Germany presented support schemes for the energy poor in their countries, and then representatives of central and local administration discussed the potential solutions for Poland. We also presented the results of the impact of thermal retrofit on the Polish labour market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below we publish a report from the event, presentations of Ute Dubois and Laura D\u00fcpr\u00e9, and a video recording. We encourage you to read the materials!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy poverty in Poland is decreasing, but it still affects 4.6 million people<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of the meeting\u00a0Katarzyna Sa\u0142ach(IBS)<\/strong>\u00a0presented a definition of energy poverty, according to which “the phenomenon concerns people experiencing difficulties in meeting their energy needs, such as heating their homes, heating water and meals, lighting, and using basic household appliances\u201d. Katarzyna Sa\u0142ach and Piotr Lewandowski estimated the scale of the phenomenon in Poland using the Low Income \u2013 High Costs\u00a0 (LIHC) indicator and analysing data from the annual Polish Household Budget Survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12.2% of the inhabitants of Poland experience energy poverty. This number dropped by 2.2 percentage points between 2012 and 2016, but the problem still affects 4.6 million people. The reason for the change was an increase in households\u2019 incomes resulting, among other things, from \u201cFamily 500+\u201d, a family benefit programme. Nevertheless, the percentage of energy poor people who were not income poor practically has not changed and amounts to about 5.6% of the population of Poland. The energy poor mainly live in villages and small towns: every fifth inhabitant of the rural areas is energy poor. Over 80% of the energy poor live in detached houses, and 25% are old-age and disability pensioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More in paper: Sa\u0142ach, K., Lewandowski, P. (2018).\u00a0Energy poverty in Poland 2012-2016.\u00a0Description and changes over time.<\/a>\u00a0IBS Brief Report 01\/2018.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How to reduce energy poverty in Poland?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next\u00a0Jan Rutkowski (IBS)<\/strong>\u00a0argued that energy poverty is an important problem, not only because of its negative impact on health and life quality, but also in the context of fighting smog. Energy poor households may contribute to air pollution, because they cannot afford to use environmentally friendly energy sources. Such households often use old boilers and low-quality fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The instruments currently used in our country do not solve the problem. None are addressed directly to the energy poor. Jan Rutkowski presented the actions that must be taken to help people affected by this condition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. defining the problem,<\/li>
  2. creating an institutional structure for the prevention of energy poverty,<\/li>
  3. developing a mechanism for identification of energy poor households,<\/li>
  4. selecting instruments,<\/li>
  5. implementing them.<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Thermal retrofit it is the most expensive, yet the most effective tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Konstancja Zi\u00f3\u0142kowska<\/strong>(IBS)<\/strong> discussed the instruments necessary to solve the problem, which are proposed by IBS experts (Jan Rutkowski, Katarzyna Sa\u0142ach, Aleksander Szpor, and Konstancja Zi\u00f3\u0142kowska): fuel allowance targeted at the energy poor, energy advisory and energy-saving improvements, thermal retrofit with prior professional counselling. The targeted fuel allowance will alleviate the symptoms of energy poverty, whereas energy advisory and energy-saving improvements, as well as thermal retrofit, will help in removing its causes. Thermal retrofit is the most expensive, yet the most effective tool. The implementation of the proposed instruments will require a precise identification of energy poor households, carried out by municipalities and social assistance centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n