Affordable energy for all means recognising that focusing on those underserved by the energy system brings multiple benefits
Focusing on those underserved by the energy system brings multiple benefits
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Our message
Intersectionality plays a crucial role in HEIs. Groups with protected characteristics—including disabled people, people from ethnic minority groups, older people, women, and lone parents—experience compounded disadvantage that extends far beyond individual risk factors.
Structural inequalities embedded within our systems of energy and transport often systematically exclude certain people and/or impose disproportionate burdens. This creates non-economic barriers that financial interventions alone cannot address.
Evidence shows how housing tenure, built environment characteristics, mobility patterns, and income constraints intersect to create concentrated disadvantage. For example, people with protected characteristics are more likely to live in flats and rent their accommodation, limiting their participation in green transitions that require property modifications (Calvillo Munoz, Martiskainen, 2025).
Many people experience double vulnerability and are excluded from/ cannot afford or access the transport, as well as the energy system, particularly if they live in rural areas and are also elderly (Martiskainen et al., 2023).
Addressing injustices in the energy system has multiple benefits, including cheaper bills, better health and improved quality of life.
