A coalition of 41 civil society organisations has written an open letter to the EU Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, calling for action to be taken to tackle energy poverty, since energy prices are likely to continue rising as a result of the current geopolitical situation in Ukraine.
”Energy poverty is (...) a structural failure; a political choice that requires a political response”, said the letter.
According to the signatory organisations, Europe’s “entrenched, profit-driven energy system” and “decrepit, inefficient building stock” have made the EU “over-reliant on fossil fuels”.
It went on to add: “These unaddressed root causes of Europe’s energy poverty are now being exacerbated by multiple other crises”.
The organisations are therefore calling for short-term measures to provide emergency support to vulnerable households, as well as long-term solutions that will avoid replicating and reinforcing the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Among the short-term measures called for, one particular recommendation is the introduction of a one-off tax on “exorbitant fossil fuel profits as a result of recently inflated prices”, while ensuring that this does not undermine investments in renewable energy.
See the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/ks (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)