Are heat waves causing summer energy poverty in Europe?

Every winter, millions of Europeans struggle to heat their homes in sub-zero temperatures as their electricity bills soar. Right now, another kind of energy poverty hangs over the same people. A warming world is driving record temperatures across the continent year after year. Many struggle to keep their homes cool amid extreme heat. The expectation that climate change will only worsen this problem is telling Euronews.

Europe is the fastest warming continent on the planet, with temperatures rising at around twice the global average. Experts predict that the number of Europeans exposed to extreme heat will rise from 10 million to 100 million by 2100.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends staying out of the heat and keeping the home cool during extreme temperatures outside. For a significant number of people in Europe, the latter is not possible.

Up to 19 percent of European households do not have comfortable cooling in summer, according to Eurostat data. Poor insulation, lack of ventilation, lack of sun protection and meager air conditioning options leave millions of people exposed to potentially dangerous heat.

Every summer is hotter and for a longer period of time

Lisbon-based climate NGO Zero Portugal recently conducted a study to find out if households suffer from temperature-related discomfort in both winter and summer. Of the 315 respondents, nearly 55 percent said they struggle year-round when it comes to adequately heating or cooling their homes.

Across the border in Spain, the situation is not much better. Barcelona-based non-profit organization Ecoserveis is part of the CoolToRise project, which aims to reduce the rate of summer energy poverty among European households.

Ecoserveis holds workshops to help people learn how to manage their electricity bills and provide strategies for coping with the summer heat. The NGO has seen similar, ever-growing problems with year-round energy poverty.

Energy poverty in summer is a more serious challenge

Many of the homes that another Spanish NGO, ECODES, works with struggle in both summer and winter, but tackling energy poverty in summer is much more difficult.

"When you live in a dense urban area with few trees and parks, the city itself collects heat that is released at night, making it more difficult to cool the home," explains Javier Tobias, architect and building project manager for ECODI.

"For the cold here, you can wear warmer clothes, put more blankets or avoid some of the air infiltration with protective tapes. But when your home reaches 30º C and stays that way all day, there's very little you can do to improve the situation," he adds.

ECODES households report sleep problems and health problems such as irritability and sweat rashes.

Hot homes – a health risk

The risk of heat exhaustion is particularly high for older people, and although the chances of heat stroke indoors are low, the danger still exists.

As summers get hotter, homes across Europe must adapt to prevent the dangerous health risks associated with record temperatures.

Extreme heat kills more than 175 people a year in Europe, according to the World Health Organization. Heat stress is the leading cause of climate-related deaths on the continent. Extreme temperatures exacerbate chronic diseases, including cardiovascular, respiratory and cerebrovascular diseases, mental health and diabetes-related conditions.

The French Foundation for Housing the Disadvantaged (FAP) points to research showing that one in seven people in France lives in an area that will be exposed to more than 20 abnormally hot days each summer by 2050.

Are there solutions to Europe's summer energy poverty?

The Build Better Lives movement, a group of 90 social justice, health and environmental NGOs, is calling for affordable, effective solutions to help people keep their homes comfortable and reduce energy bills.

"Energy poverty is becoming a year-round problem for many, and our homes and cities need to be adapted to cope with both cold and hot temperatures," says the movement's co-founder and Climate Action Network energy activist Monica Vidal.

According to her, we need to rethink the way we design our buildings and cities, adapting them to reduce energy bills for both heating and cooling. Vidal adds that solutions already exist to prepare European homes for winter and summer temperatures.

This includes better insulation, shading windows with awnings and using brighter colors for facades or roofs that help keep buildings cool. Cities can be landscaped by adding trees and parks to prevent them from becoming concrete and steel heat islands.

These passive cooling methods reduce the need for air conditioning. As global demand for mechanical cooling is expected to triple by 2050, improved building design and urban planning will help avoid emissions.

Better warning systems are also needed to keep people out in the heat. Athens, one of the cities expected to suffer the most from heat waves and drought by mid-century, is a good example. The city appointed a Chief Heat Officer in 2021. One of the main recommendations from that appointment was to name and categorize heat waves, allowing the public to better identify and respond to them.

However, these solutions must be accompanied by robust policy and social safeguards to ensure that no one is left behind. Although EU funding is available through schemes such as the NextGeneration Fund, little has been done to deliver home renovations.

"Governments must prioritize the most vulnerable households first, whether they are low-income families, senior citizens or renters, ensuring we build better lives for all," Vidal concludes.