Francois Bafoil and Rachel Guyet - Fuel poverty and governance in Europe: a comparison in 5 countries

A French Research Group and Energy poverty

Manchester

18/04/23 F Bafoil R Guyet Sciences Po 1

Outline

• 1. A Sciences Po / EDF research group

• 2. What we have researched in the field of energy poverty

• 3. Conclusion : What we currently do : How to deal with fuel poverty outside the EU ?


I. The energy group CERI EDF&RD


Who we are and

Research topics

• A group of geographers, sociologists, political scientifs supported by various institutions :

– the Caisse des Dépôts to work on renewable energies and decentralization (Governance issues), since 2015 we work on the energy autonomy (France, GB, Germany, Netherland, Poland)

– IDEX ( a group of some Paris universities) to work on social acceptance / social acceptability of local renewables energy projects (Biomas and windfarm). (collective action)

– EDF to work on fuel poverty. Governance and collective action


Fuel PovertyOur scientific project

• 1. To compare the different policies in Europe addressing fuel poverty in order to understand the extent to which the different forms of governance influence or not the different policies.

• 2. To understand the extent to which the process of liberalisation (market) and privatisation (the firms) leads or did not lead to an increasing energy poverty (fuel poverty).

• 3. To isolate and analyze local innovation dealing with energy poverty.


Four questionsState Market and social Field / Governance / collective action /

Europeanisation• The first one covers the nature of the link between the institutional change

implied by the liberalization of the energy sector since 1996, and the emergence/deepening of the phenomenon of energy poverty. This is the question of new relations between the State, the market and the social field. (1)

• The second question relates to the variety of country institutional constructs (centralized, decentralised or federal) to determine if one of them reveals itself to be more effective in fighting the phenomenon of energy poverty. This is the governance question. (2)

• The third question covers the types of innovation that emerge locally between public, private actors and NGOs to resolve this problem. This is the collective action question.

• The fourth question seeks to bring out the differences between the 3 western countries and the 2 eastern countries of the Union, to understand the weight of historic traditions in institutional and collective action matters. This is the Europeanization question.


Six outputs• 1. Each country prepares its own construction made of quantitative and

qualitative data on the basis of more or less relevant evaluations and assessments.

• 2. It is from this makeshift that public interventions are adjusted. Because of a lack of accurate data, public players tend to reformulate already known responses.

• 3. Because of a lack of a coordinated policy at ministerial level, central objectives not only become contradictory with each other, like those for environment and energy, but also between the latter and the ministry of social affairs.

• 4. As a consequence, the reaction from the central actors is often to unload the task of assisting these more or less visible populations onto the communes.

• 5. Everything therefore depends, beyond money, on the ability of local players to innovate by developing cooperation with private players and associations.

• 6. This ability results, in large part, from the institutional architecture in which the local level takes its place and the margins that the centre is ready to accept. 18/04/23 F Bafoil R Guyet Sciences Po 7

II. Local innovations – Liverpool and Frankfurt

Fuel poverty


Local innovations as buffer

• For state failures to repair / compensate for– The lack of identification of the “fuel poor” – The lack of accurate understanding of a multi-

dimensional issue– The missed target of public policies– The budget reduction of public programmes– The lack of coordination and trans-sectoral

approach to deal with the issue

Local innovations as buffer

• For market failures to compensate for– The increase in energy prices – The missed results of the competitive system– The increasing mistrust in the company-client

relationships– The critical management of disconnections – The perception of increased profit of the utilities

to the detriment of the consumers


Initiatives Healthy Homes in Liverpool Cariteam Energiesparcheck in Frankfurt

NATIONAL LEVEL

Definition of fuel poverty at national level

Legal definition in the UK with an objective to eradicate the phenomenon by 2016

No definition No recognition of the problemConsensus on the social welfare system

Number of fuel poor 10% threshold: 4.5 million fuel poor in the UK in 2013

312 000 disconnections in 2012

Public policies Targeting fuel poor Targeting social beneficiaries

LOCAL LEVEL

Actors 17 partners (NHS, city, NGOs, involvement of communities)

3 partners (city, Caritas, Job centre, involvement of community)

Shared diagnosis Derelict areas, health risks, housing risks Disadvantaged populations concentrated in specific urban areas with employment and energy difficulties

Redistributive measure Optimisation of the revenues within the project Social allowances independent from the project

Preventive measure Housing and energy: insulation, changes in behavior, changes in electrical equipmentGlobal: Health solutionEmployment solution

Housing and energy: little improvement of the installation for electricity, heat and hot water; education for behavior changesStimulate employment

Diffusion None, remains a local and temporary initiative Ministry of environment finances the programme Stromsparcheck in Germany based on the same conditions of local partnership

The characteristics of local innovations in Frankfurt and Liverpool

• Public-private-NGO partnerships (financial and human resources)

• Diagnosis-sharing (identification of the specificities of the local problem)

• Pragmatism and cooperation in the action (going beyond the administrative limits)

• New targeting method • Global approach of the difficulties (housing, energy, socio-

economic situation, health)• Preventive action for a long term solution• Diffusion of the innovation: limited in the case of Liverpool,

broad in the case of Frankfurt

Eastern Europe

• Local initiatives are based on local public authorities (wood against voucher) or on NGO (especially to support Roma population to get physical and financial access to energy).

• Are mainly reactive than proactive to the energy affordability issue and rely mainly on makeshift measures

• The central State is the major player in energy especially in Hungary where the government unilaterally decided to decrease the energy prices for all, thus increasing inequalities

The characteristics of local innovations in Frankfurt and Liverpool

• Public-NGO partnerships (financial and human resources)• Diagnosis-sharing (identification of the specificities of the

local problem)• Pragmatism and cooperation in the action (going beyond

the administrative limits)• New targeting method• Global approach of the difficulties (housing, energy,

socio-economic situation, health)• Preventive action for a long term solution• Diffusion of the innovation: limited in the case of

Liverpool, broad in the case of Frankfurt

Eastern Europe

• Local initiatives are based on local public authorities (wood against voucher in Hungary) or on NGO (especially to support Roma population to get physical and financial access to energy).

• Are mainly reactive rather than proactive to the energy affordability issue and rely mainly on makeshift measures

• The central State is a major player in energy especially in Hungary where the government unilaterally decided to decrease the energy prices for all, thus increasing inequalities

Local

PublicPrivate

Liverpool, Healthy homes

Cariteam Energiesparcheck in Frankfurt

Programme Stromsparcheck (financed by the centre based on local partnership)

Hungary: decrease in energy prices decided by the central government

Local public authorities dealing with social assistance and adapting solutions to local needs

Central

III. Conclusion

How to deal with fuel poverty outside the EU


The EU outside the EU

• Welfare and regulatory state

• More or less existing definition

• General accessibility

• Formal contracts, state subsidies, taxes

• Urban / rural divide

• The developmental state (liberal and protectionist)

• The phenomenon is very rarely recognized

• Missing accessibility

• Informal relations, communities, « grey zones ». Different consensus

• Urban issues (core and peripheries) and center vs periphery


Thank you for your attention


Presentations & Public Speaking

Francois Bafoil and Rachel Guyet - Fuel poverty and governance in Europe: a comparison in 5 countries