In the Name of Energy Efficiency : Justice and energy poverty in the energy transition of Swedish housing

Abstract

The energy transition of housing is accelerating in parallel with economic inequality reaching historically high levels. There is thus an opportunity to reduce inequalities in living conditions, but also a risk that the costs of the transition are unequally distributed and aggravate existing inequalities. In order to seize the opportunity for a just transition, and in tandem enable a meaningful introduction of energy poverty to the Swedish political agenda, the aim of the presented thesis is to explore how the energy transition of Swedish housing is affecting social justice and vulnerability to energy poverty. This is done by novel conceptualisations, that draw on existing theory particularly relevant for the current context, of what a just energy transition of Swedish housing entails, and how energy poverty can be understood in the Swedish context; but also by adding empirical rigour to the discussion in analysing how costs and burdens of the transition have been shared between income groups, and how vulnerabilities to energy poverty are distributed among households.
Overall, the findings show that the strong focus on energy efficiency in transition policy tends to structurally burden low-income residents. This could be seen in how low-income residents, who were shown to have low per capita energy use for housing, had carried a disproportionate cost burden for energy retrofitting over the past years; in how new policy imposing cold rent in the worst-performing buildings predominantly affected low-income households, and consequently elevated the risk for energy poverty in an already vulnerable part of the housing stock; and in how flexible energy use is consistently assumed to be an ability equally distributed across society. By incorporating flexibility in the conceptualisation of energy poverty, it could be determined what characteristics of a household contribute to their ability to dodge the current energy price peaks, but also who are most likely to be winners and losers in future energy systems increasingly reliant on demand-side flexibility.
In conclusion, the findings in this thesis show that injustices have occurred in the energy transition over the past decade; that these injustices are structural and not coincidental; and that there are risks of injustices continuing to occur and inequality being built into future energy systems. By disclosing the implications of past decisions, the presented thesis provides credible accounts of the need for increased integration of social perspectives in energy policy, and offers practical support for more just pathways ahead. As such, it challenges dominating transition narratives that, in the name of energy efficiency, structurally have put low-income households at the frontline of the energy transition of Swedish housing.

Abstract (Swedish)

The energy transition of housing is accelerating in parallel with economic inequality reaching historically high levels. There is thus an opportunity to reduce inequalities in living conditions, but also a risk that the costs of the transition are unequally distributed and aggravate existing inequalities. In order to seize the opportunity for a just transition, and in tandem enable a meaningful introduction of energy poverty to the Swedish political agenda, the aim of the presented thesis is to explore how the energy transition of Swedish housing is affecting social justice and vulnerability to energy poverty. This is done by novel conceptualisations, that draw on existing theory particularly relevant for the current context, of what a just energy transition of Swedish housing entails, and how energy poverty can be understood in the Swedish context; but also by adding empirical rigour to the discussion in analysing how costs and burdens of the transition have been shared between income groups, and how vulnerabilities to energy poverty are distributed among households.
Overall, the findings show that the strong focus on energy efficiency in transition policy tends to structurally burden low-income residents. This could be seen in how low-income residents, who were shown to have low per capita energy use for housing, had carried a disproportionate cost burden for energy retrofitting over the past years; in how new policy imposing cold rent in the worst-performing buildings predominantly affected low-income households, and consequently elevated the risk for energy poverty in an already vulnerable part of the housing stock; and in how flexible energy use is consistently assumed to be an ability equally distributed across society. By incorporating flexibility in the conceptualisation of energy poverty, it could be determined what characteristics of a household contribute to their ability to dodge the current energy price peaks, but also who are most likely to be winners and losers in future energy systems increasingly reliant on demand-side flexibility.
In conclusion, the findings in this thesis show that injustices have occurred in the energy transition over the past decade; that these injustices are structural and not coincidental; and that there are risks of injustices continuing to occur and inequality being built into future energy systems. By disclosing the implications of past decisions, the presented thesis provides credible accounts of the need for increased integration of social perspectives in energy policy, and offers practical support for more just pathways ahead. As such, it challenges dominating transition narratives that, in the name of energy efficiency, structurally have put low-income households at the frontline of the energy transition of Swedish housing.

Energiomställningen av bostadsbeståndet accelererar i takt med att ekonomisk ojämlikhet når historiskt höga nivåer. Det finns därför goda möjligheter att minska boenderelaterad ojämlikhet samtidigt som omställningens kostnader riskerar att snedfördelas och förstärka befintliga ojämlikheter. I en ansats att ta vara på möjligheten till en rättvis omställning, och för att samtidigt få till en meningsfull inkludering av energifattigdom i svensk energipolitik, ämnar föreliggande avhandling stärka kunskapen kring hur energiomställningen av det svenska bostadsbeståndet påverkar social rättvisa och sårbarhet för energifattigdom. Detta har gjorts genom konceptualisering, byggd på befintlig teori av särskild relevans för rådande förhållanden, av vad en rättvis energiomställning av bostadsbeståndet innebär samt hur energifattigdom kan förstås i den svenska kontexten; men även genom att empiriskt studera hur kostnader och bördor har fördelats mellan inkomstgrupper och hur sårbarheter för energifattigdom är fördelade mellan hushåll.
Helhetsbilden från resultaten visar att det starka fokuset på energieffektivisering inom energipolitiken tenderar att strukturellt belasta låginkomsttagare. Detta påvisades i hur låginkomsttagare, som visade sig ha låg energianvändning per person för boende, hade burit en oproportionerligt stor andel av kostnaderna för energieffektiviserande renovering; i hur nya krav på kallhyra i byggnaderna med lägst energiprestanda primärt nådde låginkomsttagare och således ökade risken för energifattigdom i en redan utsatt del av bostadsbeståndet; och i hur flexibel energianvändning alltjämt antas vara en förmåga som är jämnt fördelad i samhället. Genom att inkludera flexibilitet i konceptualiseringen av energifattigdom erhölls resultat kring vilka hushållsprofiler som bidrar till förmågan att parera rådande elpristoppar, men även kring vilka som är troliga att bli vinnare och förlorare i framtida energisystem alltmer beroende av efterfrågeflexibilitet.
Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten i avhandlingen att orättvisor har skett i energiomställningen under det senaste decenniet; att dessa orättvisor är strukturella och inte slumpmässiga; och att det finns fortsatt risk att orättvisor uppstår och att ojämlikhet byggs in i framtida energisystem. Genom att blotta effekterna av tidigare beslut presenterar föreliggande avhandling starka argument för behovet av ökad integrering av sociala perspektiv inom energipolitiken, och ger praktiskt stöd för mer rättvisa vägar framåt. På så sätt utmanas de dominerande narrativen kring omställningen som, i energieffektiviseringens namn, strukturellt placerat låginkomsthushåll på frontlinjen av energiomställningen av bostadsbeståndet.

• author: von Platten, Jenny
• supervisor: Kristina Mjörnell; Mikael Mangold
• opponent: Docent Wangel, Josefin, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.
• organization: Division of Building Physics
• publishing date: 2022-11-01
• type: Thesis
• publication status: published
• subject: Energy Systems; Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
• keywords: Energy transition, Housing, Justice, Energy poverty, Economic inequality, Flexibility
• pages: 212 pages
• defense location: Lecture Hall V:A, building V, John Ericssons väg 1, Faculty of Engineering LTH, Lund University, Lund.
• defense date: 2022-11-25 13:00:00
• ISSN: 0349-4950
• ISBN: 978-91-88722-80-5
• ISBN: 978-91-88722-81-2
• language: English
• LU publication?: yes
• additional info: ISRN: LUTVDG/TVBH--22/1029--SE(212)
• id: 9b23c809-a3f9-4b85-a659-b4dd919215d6
• date added to LUP: 2022-10-31 15:42:17
• date last changed: 2022-11-03 12:32:33