Assessing Fossil Fuels and Renewables’ Impact on Energy Poverty Conditions in Europe

George Halkos and Eleni-Christina Gkampoura
Additional contact information
Eleni-Christina Gkampoura: Department of Economics, University of Thessaly, 38333 Volos, Greece

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: The disadvantages of fossil fuels and their impact on the environment have made the transition to renewable energy sources essential to cover our energy needs. However, different energy resources have a different impact on energy poverty conditions in the world, an issue that is important to examine and properly address. This study examines the impact that fossil fuels final energy consumption in households per capita and renewables and biofuels final energy consumption in households per capita have on energy poverty conditions in Europe, using panel data from 28 European countries for the time period 2004–2019 and static and dynamic regression models, while also performing various econometric tests. The findings indicate that GDP per capita and fossil fuels are linked to an inverse relationship to energy poverty conditions. Renewables and biofuels are also linked to an inverse relationship to the inability to keep homes adequately warm and the presence of leaks, damp, or rot in the dwelling, but they could be considered a driver of arrears on utility bills. In addition, a comparative analysis between Sweden, Germany, and Greece and their conditions on energy poverty and energy transition was conducted, highlighting the differences existing between the three European countries. The findings of the research can be useful for governments and policy makers to develop strategies that promote energy transition while protecting energy consumers.

Keywords: energy poverty; fossil fuels; renewables; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/560/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/560/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:560-:d:1024084

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().