Energy Poverty in Eastern Europe

"Energy poverty is a condition where households cannot afford to heat their homes up to a necessary level. It has been on the rise in the former Communist states of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, due to a specific combination of factors such as cold weather, energy-inefficient housing, and the nature of economic reforms. The ubiquity of domestic energy deprivation is one of the reasons why energy issues in this region regularly attract the attention of global media." "This book provides the first full-length examination of the causes, consequences and patterns of energy poverty in post-socialist countries. Based on empirical evidence that spans different spatial contexts and scales and compares these with other parts of the world, it links household-level deprivation with broader organizational and political dynamics. The book also analyses the lived experiences of scarcity and marginalization with the aid of two in-depth country studies. It identifies the socio-demographic factors that distinguish energy-poor families from the rest of the population, while stressing the need for a comprehensive range of policy tools to address energy poverty. As the issue of energy supply from the Former Soviet Union is likely to become one of the most important economic and political problems across the whole of Europe within the next couple of decades, the book argues that there is a direct link between the energy crises experienced by the region, and the social aspects of energy use in households."--BOOK JACKET.