Women are more at risk of energy poverty than men, and energy transition provides an opportunity to fight energy poverty, it was said at a conference "The Invisible Face of Energy Poverty - Women's Perspective," held at Europe House Zagreb on Monday.

Energy poverty is about a household not being able to secure a minimum level of energy consumption to meet its basic needs and efficiently participate in society, Miljenka Kuhar, executive director of the Society for Sustainable Development Design, said at the event.

She said the phenomenon has a pronounced gender dimension and particularly affects women due to physiological (women are more sensitive to heat and cold than men), economic (women have lower wages and pensions) and social reasons because they often do not participate equally as men in making energy-related decisions.

In Croatia, according to the latest available data, 5.7% of households cannot afford adequate heating while 16.6% are late with their energy bills.

Importance of energy transition

Two panel debates were held as part of the conference, organised by the European Parliament Office in Croatia in cooperation with the ZGRADOnacelnik.hr portal on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Speaking at the first panel, which focused on energy poverty and gender (in)equality, member of the European Parliament Romana Jerkovic of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said that the pandemic, energy crisis and inflation had made the situation regarding energy poverty more complex and difficult, noting that the difference between women and men in terms of exposure to the risk of energy poverty was particularly pronounced among elderly people.

She commended the European Commission REPowerEU plan, which aims to end the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels by 2030, noting that everyone should become involved in the process of the green transition.

Ivana Kriz-Selendic of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets, spoke about the energy renovation of buildings in Croatia, noting that the process was being hampered by factors such as unresolved property relations issues as well as the situation caused by the 2020 earthquakes.

She noted that women were particularly vulnerable to poverty in general, including energy poverty.

That is also due to the fact that elderly women live predominantly in single-member households and that single parents are mostly women, she added.

Speaking at the second panel, which focused on a just energy transition, MEP Suncana Glavak of Croatia’s ruling HDZ party said that without the government’s intervention, energy products would be 400 to 500 times more expensive, noting that prices of energy products in Croatia were among the lowest in the EU.

Drazen Jaksic of the Hrvoje Pozar Energy Institute underlined the importance of the energy renovation of private homes for the implementation of the energy transition.

Visnja Grgasovic of the Economy and Sustainable Development Ministry underlined the potential of women’s empowerment for the energy transition, which, she said, “is an opportunity for strengthening gender equality.”