In Europe, 104 million people cannot maintain their home comfortable during summer, an issue even more important in the Mediterranean, where heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense. Energy poverty causes many inconveniences for those who suffer from it: economic difficulties, inability to pay bills, social isolation or even health problems.
Empowering women to fight against energy poverty in the Mediterranean, limit the impacts on health and social and gender inequalities, these are the objectives set by the 9 partners of the EmpowerMed project. The project is now launching its communication campaign by putting online its website and video clip.
Video clip:
Practical measures are implemented in 6 pilot areas with large partnerships approach:
The pilot in Metropolitan area of Barcelona accounts for about 5.5 million inhabitants
- 24 % of the population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion. In the city of Barcelona, from this population at reisk, 55% are women. More than 100,000 households are in energy poverty conditions.
- Key local actors: Barcelona City Council’s Energy Advisory Points and equivalent offices or social services in other municipalities of the metropolitan area and incumbent electricity and natural gas suppliers
- Context: vulnerable households are at risk of electricity or gas disconnection because of their already precarious situations. In most of these households there are women and children.
The associated EmpowerMed actions: are:
- Organisation of collective assemblies on energy and health issues to empower households at risk of (or suffering) disconnection from energy supply and other.
- Energy DIY workshops on how to read and understand energy bills, and to provide advice on how to access funding for energy efficiency, e.g., grants for building retrofits.
- Counselling sessions for affected households to appropriately address the emotional and mental health dimensions of energy poverty.
You may find the press release here:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 847052.
