Heating, transport, and participation in life: Towards an integrated understanding of energy poverty and the power structures upholding it for a just transition

Name: Heating, transport, and participation in life: Towards an integrated understanding of energy poverty and the power structures upholding it for a just transition

Project Leader: Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)

Duration: January 2026 – December 2029

IIIEE Researchers: Palm, Jenny (PI), Alfredsson Jofs, Ella (doctoral researcher), von Platten, Jenny (PI), Pardalis, Georgios (co- supervisor), Lazoroska, Daniela (co- supervisor)

Financing Body: The Swedish Energy Agency

Aim: The transition towards a fossil-free energy system is a central societal priority. However, while climate policies are necessary, they may also increase the cost of heating and transport for households, thereby risking new or deepened forms of energy poverty. In Sweden, research on energy poverty remains limited, particularly regarding how different forms of energy vulnerability interact.

This project develops an integrated understanding of energy poverty by examining how heating and transport poverty overlap and shape people’s ability to participate in everyday life. Previous research has often treated these dimensions separately, despite evidence that their combined effects can lead to heightened vulnerability and social exclusion.

The project places particular emphasis on lived experiences. Through qualitative methods, including interviews and oral histories, combined with quantitative analysis, it explores how households navigate trade-offs between essential needs such as keeping their homes warm and maintaining mobility. By doing so, the project identifies the most vulnerable groups and the conditions under which energy poverty emerges and persists.

A key contribution is the focus on structural drivers and power relations. Rather than understanding energy poverty solely as a matter of individual income or behaviour, the project analyses how energy systems, housing markets, transport infrastructures, and policy frameworks shape unequal access to energy services.

The project is carried out in collaboration between the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University, and Energikontor Syd. Together, the partners combine academic expertise, policy engagement, and practical implementation.

By bridging research, policy, and practice, the project contributes to more effective and socially just energy policies at local, national, and EU levels. It also aims to increase public awareness of energy poverty through innovative dissemination approaches, including an artistic exhibition that communicates households’ lived experiences.

Project Website: https://portal.research.lu.se/en/projects/heating-transport-and-participation-in-everyday-life-towards-an-i/