**1. Introduction**

The launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by United Nations Organization, in 2015, demonstrated the importance of access to energy in order to ensure the quality of life for all the citizens. Compared to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the new goals are more diversified, complex: through the links between them, sustainable development will be generated. Even the Millennium Development Goals advocated for reducing extreme poverty, improving living conditions and sustaining progress for sustainable development, no direct reference to access to energy

was done [1,2]. This situation was remedied in 2015, the energy being the topic of a distinct goal, with many connections and with other objectives.

Goal 7-"Affordable and clean energy"-is one of the 17 objectives, but considering that energy accessibility has consequences on the quality of life and the environment, it may be said that energy is the core of SDGs. Access to energy ensures the guarantee of fundamental human rights, but also social-cultural rights such as the right to food, to a heated home, to education, to decent working conditions, to maintaining a healthy state consistent with age. Moreover, the idea of a fundamental right to energy, launched by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, came up with the 2014 "Sustainable energy for All" Initiative. The energy problem has become more nuanced by launching the concept of clean energy or sustainable energy because the poor population is frequently in the situation of using polluting fuels, with negative effects on the health of the users and the environment [2–5]. The magnitude of this phenomenon worldwide and its consequences on the population are demonstrated by the statements of World Health Organization officials who have declared that energy poverty generates more deaths compared to malaria or tuberculosis [2]. In addition, indoor air pollution caused by the use of polluting fuels to heat the home and to prepare food favors the appearance of specific diseases, such as respiratory infections, which puts pressure on public health systems that are not very strong in developing countries anyway.

Therefore, energy has gained its proper place not only in scientific and political debates, but also in the concerns of researchers and public authorities. The energy-economic development relationship is analyzed bidirectionally. On one hand, economic development affects energy consumption. In the initial phases, energy consumption increases as production capacities develop. Later, growth of energy consumption is tempered as a result of more efficient use of the energy with the generation of technical progress. On the other hand, energy generates economic growth, being considered a factor of production [6–12]. Additionally, limited access to energy or reduced energy efficiency have negative effects on quality of life, environmental protection or economic growth. Energy dependence has economic, social and political consequences [13–15]. For this reason, renewable energy has gained importance, being seen as a tool for achieving the goals of sustainable development [16–18].

The scope of this research is to explore the relations between energy poverty, quality of life and renewable energy for EU countries and especially for Romania. The novelty of the scientific approach is given by the analysis of the statistical data for the period 2010–2019 and the measures proposed for the specific situation of Romania. The article is structured into several sections. In part one, we present the concept of energy poverty, and we pointed out that the evolution of the concept captured the specificities of developed countries, developing countries, warm areas and cold areas. Reducing and eliminating energy poverty is a goal of all public authorities, given the negative consequences that the phenomenon has on the welfare of the population. In the next section, an analysis of the difficulties in assessing energy poverty is conducted by analyzing data from Eurostat concerning electricity prices for households and arrears on utility bills between 2009 and 2018-and the solutions for combating energy poverty from the EU countries. After this, a cross-country analysis concerning Granger causality between indicators representing all three dimensions is conducted. In the final part of article, the situation of Romania is analyzed in order to propose concrete measures for mitigation of this phenomenon.

#### **2. Energy Poverty and Quality of Life**

The reduced accessibility to energy for certain categories of the population has generated international debates in various forums, but also the emergence of numerous concepts such as energy poverty, fuel poverty, vulnerable consumer/energy vulnerability, energy efficiency, energy richness (which involves not only meeting needs through proper access to energy, but energy efficiency) or establishing connections with other concepts such as social exclusion, energy culture [4,19], energy security, decarburization of the economy, energy transition, energy union [20]. The tools for ensuring the access to energy are multiple and the stakeholders involved have specific responsibilities. If the public

authorities have the mission to create the specific legal and institutional framework, companies must develop technologies and products that ensure energy efficiency, adopt green and lean management strategies, the employees must acquire the specific competences to use the equipment, and the consumers must have responsibilities regarding the consumption of energy, home improvement conditions [21–25].

Energy poverty is defined as the inability of a person or household to meet the minimum energy needs [4] or the specific situation of a household that faces inadequate access to essential energy services [19], the situation being specify not only


As expected, as in other fields of activity, there is no unanimity regarding the definition of the concept, indicators of measurement or political approach, not even within the European Union, which is why, at European level, the principle of subsidiarity is applied and the European Commission plays an important role in the coagulation process of European initiatives [5,26,28].

This situation is characterized by other specialists as the need for a household to spend disproportionately much of the income obtained on energy services [29]. The causes of this socio-economic complex phenomenon are numerous and are multiple interdependencies between them. The low level of income, rising energy prices as a result of reforms (privatization of companies with majority state owned capital) and liberalization of the energy sector, volatility of the international oil price, reduced efficiency of buildings and electrical appliances that are used in a household, a system of property ownership that does not encourage energy efficiency, specific to Central and Eastern European countries, energy needs also consumer behavior, age and consumer health [4,5,19,20].

Although the concepts of energy poverty and fuel poverty are sometimes considered synonymous, the idea that energy poverty is a broader concept has been prevailed in scientific literature [30]. This concept is used at EU level, in official documents like the Third Energy Package. The United Kingdom and Ireland have been among the first countries to have concerns regarding cold and inefficient homes, but later also the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but also of Western Europe it was concerned about the problem of access to energy of the population, of the determined factors, of the economic and social consequences. The involvement of the EU in creating a transnational framework to address and solve this problem, the activity of international development organizations and researchers who have expanded their concerns and studies on countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have generated a geographic diversity of specific aspects of energy access and consecration of energy poverty concept.

Researchers such as Bouzarovski & Herrero [31] even draw attention to the situation in Central and Eastern Europe, which it is considered one of the 'hotspots' of energy poverty in the EU, with Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Lithuania leading. The international financial crisis and the austerity measures adopted by all states have deepened the vulnerabilities of the population regarding access to energy [32]. In the countries of Africa, paradoxes are the order of the day. Countries, such as Nigeria, characterized by massive economic dependence on the oil and gas sector, are characterized by high demand for energy, acute energy poverty, inefficient energy use and inadequate supply.

Therefore, the ratio of the population to the energy poverty is different depending on the level of development of the country: in developing countries, a reduced access on a large scale to energy services is observed, while, in developed countries, difficulties in ensuring energy consumption according to needs could be identified.

The problem could be approached in a multidimensional way, considering the numerous consequences of energy poverty (or the inverse phenomenon, of energy wealth) on the quality of life or on the pollution of the environment. Studies from international literature [27,33,34] have drawn attention to the negative consequences of energy poverty on the health status of the population, the researchers observing an indirect relation between access to energy and winter mortality, heart and respiratory diseases. In addition, the consequences extend to the quality of life. Moreover, the predominant use of certain fuels, in developing countries, in households-wood, coal or material waste generates negative effects on the health status as a result of poor combustion, the non-ventilation of houses generating indoor air pollution characterized by the existence of high levels of carbon dioxide and suspended particles [2] in some cases, even larger than those specific to large cities for outdoor pollution.

Indoor pollution is a very serious phenomenon affecting mainly children and women. Statistical data from World Health Organization demonstrated that, indoor pollution doubles the risk of pneumonia and other acute infections for children under five years. The indoor pollution has long-term negative repercussions on health of adolescents and adults; This situation generates not only direct (medical), but also indirect (social) costs. At the EU level, treating asthma and other lung diseases involves costs of EUR 82 million. Raising the price of energy bills can generate a restructuring of family budgets, meaning that for the coverage of specific expenses, citizens can reduce their income for food to cover these expenses, which can have adverse effects on the health status.

Energy poverty mainly affects people in rural areas who, in order to meet the heating needs of homes and food, use different fuels or biofuels; in households, as a rule, women are responsible for providing these fuels. The lack of energy services offered on a commercial basis (absence of commercially supplied energy) generates, in these communities, an accentuation of the gender asymmetry of living conditions [35] limits the access to education, information and participation in political life [20]. Moreover, there are researchers who draw attention to fires generated by inadequate use of cooking or heating equipment [36]. Children are the most vulnerable segment of the population, given their low risk assessment capacity. Unfortunately, their involvement in fires has immediate repercussions on the state of health, but also long-term effects in the form of educational, psychological and social deficiencies.

The issue of energy poverty was initially addressed in the UK, which, together with Ireland, were the only countries in the EU that recognized and tried to solve this problem [37,38]. Subsequently, several countries became aware of this problem, and the fight against energy poverty has become an economic policy objective at national and European level, entering the concerns of many EU institutions. The EU Directives 2018/2002 and 2012/27 regarding energy efficiency consider the modeling of the energy demand and the improvement of the energy efficiency, one of the objectives being to reduce the energy poverty [39,40].

#### **3. Assessment Di**ffi**culties**

Within the EU borders, it is recommended that every member state suggests countermeasures to combat energy poverty. Obviously, these countermeasures have to be tailored in order to suit the national reality. Currently, Romania has gaps in correctly assessing the level of energy poverty. On the other hand, combating this phenomenon has proved being inefficient. The issue resides in the fact that both measuring the phenomenon and combating are limited to aspects regarding the level of household income, social tariffs implemented by providers and granting State supported benefit schemes to cover heating costs for a certain category of vulnerable consumers.

In Romania, there are 8.92 mil. homes and 7.494 mil. households [41] (In Romanian Census practices there is a difference between home and household. A home is an apartment or a house and a household consists of the individuals (persons) who live in that house or apartment (they may form a family or not). Hence, there can be more households in the same home, but also a household can own more homes). According to data from the [42–45], considering the European context and the specifics of Romanian economy and society, the issue of energy poverty can be summarized as follows:


In the past 10 years, electricity prices for households in Europe have been constantly on the rise. In EU28, the average price per kilowatt hour has risen from 0.24 EUR in the first half of 2009 to 0.39 EUR in the first half of 2019 (Eurostat), with obvious differences between states (Table 1). The highest prices are in Spain (0.65 EUR), Germany (0.49 EUR) and Belgium (0.47 EUR); the lowest prices in the EC are registered in Hungary (0.11 EUR), Lithuania (0.13 EUR) and Romania (0.13 EUR).


**Table 1.** Electricity prices for households.

Source of data: [42].


A relevant indicator of energy poverty (regardless of whether) reflecting poor access to energy or fuel poverty) in low-income countries with high poverty rates is 'arrears on utility bills', which can reveal the rate of households inability to pay utility bills (heating, electricity, natural gas, water, etc.) on time, due to low purchasing power and/or high prices. In EU-28, the average for these types of situations decreased from 9.1% to 6.6% between 2010 and 2018, with major differences between countries (Table 2). In 2018, 36.9% of the inhabitants of North Macedonia, 35.6% of Greeks, 30.1% of Bulgarians and 17.5% of Croatians registered delays in the payment of energy bills. Above the Eurozone average of 6%, there are countries like Romania (14.4%), Slovenia (12.5%), Hungary (11.1%), Cyprus (12.2%), as well as Spain (7.2%) and France (6.4%).



**Table 2.** Arrears on utility bills (%)-EU-SILC survey.

Source of data: [42].

### **4. Micro-Solutions for Combating Energy Poverty. Examples of Good Practices in Europe**

In countries such as Spain, Germany, Belgium and the UK, there is a successful practice of countering energy poverty by counseling vulnerable families who encounter difficulties in paying their utility bills [46–52]. These solutions are less costly (falling into the category of non-financial measures), partly rely on volunteers and are applicable at the local community level in any European country. Some different projects-with various stakeholders, different financial implications and structures of implementation-aimed at reducing energy poverty and improving household resilience to energy needs, are presented below.

### *4.1. Spain-The Ni un Hogar Sin Energia (No Home without Energy) Project*

In Spain, about seven million people are affected by arrears on utility bills and/or experience abnormal temperatures in their homes [46]. Such a situation affects quality of life by detrimental effects on health, children's education and personal savings. In this context, a non-governmental organization has initiated a project to assist the people who do not understand the content of the bills and do not know how to act in order to reduce costs while also ensuring a comfortable temperate inside the house. The program's objectives are to make recommendations to people about adjusting the electricity supply contracts, to propose measures in order to increase the energy efficiency by thermal rehabilitation works on residential buildings or changing the consumption habits [47]. From 2013 to date, the foundation's assistants (social workers) have visited over 2000 households in over 30 Spanish cities and drew up a personalized energy diagnosis for each of them. Additionally, the foundation used the gathered data in order to build an on line platform, so that advice and knowledge were made available for over 4400 Spanish households to date, resulting in savings of about 125 EUR/household/year on average, hence a total of about 550,000 EUR/year [48].

### *4.2. UK-The Plymouth Energy Community Initiative*

In Plymouth, over 1500 natural persons, economic operators and non-profits teamed up to establish a social enterprise with the purpose of rendering the energy production, purchase and use more efficient. The Plymouth Energy Community Initiative addresses both natural person's residents and local authorities, public institutions and economic organizations. The project is not limited to offer only advice in view of increasing energy efficiency and decreasing costs, but also to elaborate an investment scheme in which every participant (above the age of 16) can buy social shares with values between 50 and 100,000 pounds, under the motto: ´´People care more about things that they own´´. The shareholders become members of the Plymouth Energy Community, they can be a part of the organization's board and will collect an interest of 6% of the invested capital. The organization invests the amounts collected from selling social shares into the installation of solar panels on schools, public buildings or brownfield sites and for building community-led housing. These installations help the host building to reduce its energy consumption and the extra revenue is transferred to Plymouth Energy Community. Thus, a business model was created that helps citizens benefit from energy from renewable sources at reduced costs, the investors collect interest (usually above market level), and, additionally, more financial resources are created to generate new projects for reducing carbon emissions and energy poverty [49].

### *4.3. Belgium-The Papillon Project*

The project implemented in the Flemish region of Westhoek in Belgium is a partnership between a company producing electric appliances and the local authorities. The project started from the following premises: one in three consumers affected by energy poverty owns energy inefficient household appliances that consume three to five times more than new ones; most consumers stricken by energy poverty cannot afford purchasing new appliances [50]. The project focuses on 100 households and offers them the possibility to rent new appliances for a fee of seven EUR/month. It includes ten types of household appliances; the rental fee covers installation, maintenance and warranty for a period of 10 years. The leasing fee is paid once per year by the social enterprise (Samenlevingsopbouw West-Vlaanderen, which is owned by the local authority) to the supplier of electric appliances, who remains the legal owner. After the contract expires, the appliances are returned to the supplier for reuse or recycling. The project is part of a broader implementation strategy of a circular economy, and is based on the following cost/benefit synthesis (Table 3)


**Table 3.** The Papillon Project, cost/benefit synthesis.
