Policy prescriptions to address energy and transport poverty in the United Kingdom

Sovacool, BK, Upham, P, Martiskainen, M, Jenkins, KEH, Torres Contreras, GA and Simcock, N (2023) Policy prescriptions to address energy and transport poverty in the United Kingdom. Nature Energy.

Preview

Text s41560-023-01196-w.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Tens of millions of households across Europe struggle to afford adequate electricity and heating services and reliable transportation, while recent high fuel prices could lead to an increase in excess winter deaths. Tackling energy and transport poverty is thus of paramount policy importance. Here we document the drivers and lived experiences of energy and transport poverty in the United Kingdom, based on public focus groups and expert interviews. We find a set of policies that resonate with both expert planners and members of the public, implying they have a level of political and social acceptability that other measures may be lacking, notably: mandatory landlord energy efficiency upgrades, increasing the extent of financial assistance to households, cheaper (or even free) bus and train fares and restarting and expanding bus services. We buttress these findings with further suggestions for energy and transport system redesign that better meets emerging principles of energy and social justice.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering; 0907 Environmental Engineering
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
Divisions:	Biological and Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	Springer
Date of acceptance:	9 January 2023
Date of first compliant Open Access:	20 February 2023
Date Deposited:	20 Feb 2023 15:02
Last Modified:	20 Feb 2023 15:02
DOI or ID number:	10.1038/s41560-023-01196-w
URI:	https://ljmu-9.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/18943

View Item