For the first time since 2021, the share of EU citizens unable to keep their homes adequately warm registered a downward trajectory, dropping to 9.2% in 2024 from a peak of 10.6% in 2023. The European Commission attributes this improvement to a combination of falling energy retail prices, the implementation of national energy efficiency measures, and better-targeted policy interventions. Yet this figure conceals geographic disparities, as the share of people unable to heat their homes ranges from 2.7% in Finland to 19% in Bulgaria and Greece, and in the EU's four largest economies of Spain, France, Germany and Italy, nearly 27 million people are affected.
Depending on the indicator selected, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) found that between 8% and 16% of the EU faces energy poverty, despite 70% of the energy poor not being income poor. This is an important finding that challenges the assumption that energy poverty is simply a subset of general poverty. The JRC analysis confirms that the four primary EU energy poverty indicators overlap very little, suggesting that different dimensions of the problem require different policy tools to address the issue. The Draghi Report on European Competitiveness underscores the urgency of tackling energy poverty, noting that targeted support for low-income households and investment in energy efficiency are essential for maintaining European economic strength.
The summer dimension of energy poverty is also gaining recognition. Findings suggest that those unable to keep warm in winter may struggle equally to keep cool in summer, requiring not only building-level solutions but interventions in urban planning and the greening of spaces.
The Legislative Framework: Progress and Gaps
The EU regulatory landscape has significantly matured over the last years. The revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), both now in force, place energy poverty alleviation at the core of building renovation strategy. The revised EPBD requires Member States to reduce the average energy use of residential buildings by 16% by 2030, with at least 55% of energy savings in the residential sector delivered through renovation of the lowest-performing buildings. The Social Climate Fund, drawing on ETS2 revenues and Member State’s contributions, is projected to mobilise up to €86.7 billion from 2025 to 2032, though energy poverty experts have raised concerns about whether this is sufficient relative to the distributional effects of the expanded ETS.
Importantly, a new EU Housing and Energy Commissioner has been appointed, signalling that housing affordability and energy access are now being addressed in tandem at the highest political level. This resulted in the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan, presented in December 2025, which explicitly recognises that poor housing quality and energy performance contribute to energy poverty, and commits to targeted investment and revised State aid rules to prioritise renovation and support for the most vulnerable households.
What EU-Funded Projects Are Teaching Us About Possible Solutions
Three ongoing EU-funded projects offer valuable insights into the practical dimensions of tackling energy poverty across different building types and population groups.
The RENOVERTY project (2022–2025) focused on energy renovation in rural and peri-urban areas across seven European countries. The project found that rural energy poverty is multidimensional, driven by old and poorly insulated homes, geographical remoteness leading to reduced academic and professional opportunities and therefore income, dependence on expensive fuels, lack of information, shortage of skilled professionals, and administrative barriers. As such rural and peri-urban energy poverty must be addressed comprehensively, using technical, financial, legal, and community support measures simultaneously for the highest chance of success. Through audits, workshops and co-creation processes involving residents, authorities and local actors, RENOVERTY developed 32 Rural Energy Efficiency Roadmaps (REERs) guiding households and stakeholders on how to implement solutions to address energy insecurity. Its pilots demonstrated that itinerant offices, community-based models and stable policy frameworks can unlock renovation in areas where economies of scale are difficult to achieve.
Where RENOVERTY addressed rural households, the LOCATEE project (2024–2027) focuses on a different but equally underserved segment, namely, private multi-apartment buildings in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, where local municipalities struggle to bridge the gap between private housing owners and local climate and energy policies. LOCATEE is developing a toolkit that uses administrative data to create typologies of households and buildings, allowing municipalities to identify priority intervention locations and integrate energy poverty alleviation into their long-term strategies such as Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs). A systematic review of 57 local initiatives reveals both promising practices and persistent shortcomings, particularly the lack of robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and underscores the critical role of municipalities and civil society organizations as intermediaries.
The ASSERT project (2024–2027) addresses one of the most overlooked dimensions of the energy poverty challenge, specifically the intersection between energy poverty and physical disability. People with physical disabilities are disproportionately affected due to their higher energy needs and lower income, yet they often lack the support and resources to manage their energy needs effectively. While policy awareness and willingness to provide support for people with disabilities is growing, operational capacity for municipalities to assist them remains limited. To move forward, municipalities require clear guidance and stronger collaboration with national authorities and across housing, social, and health departments, which can enable more holistic energy solutions for this vulnerable group. ASSERT is therefore delivering specialised trainings for policymakers, intermediaries, and people with disabilities themselves, equipping all three groups with the skills needed to implement and benefit from inclusive energy solutions.
The Way Forward
Taken together, these projects reinforce the central lesson that no single instrument is sufficient to solve energy poverty. Deep building renovation, income and legal support, targeted training, and inclusive governance must work in parallel, not in sequence.
The EU has built an increasingly coherent architecture to address energy poverty, yet for many vulnerable groups, the standard policy toolkit still falls short. The challenge moving forward is to collect successful solutions for energy poverty alleviation, scale them, and implement these rapidly and equitably, keeping with the most vulnerable at their centre.
