Research to close the energy poverty gap receives €2.2m ERC funding
Published: 11 December 2024
Commentary
Ground-breaking research that addresses energy poverty in Europe has received funding from the European Research Council.
Ground-breaking UofG research that addresses energy poverty in Europe has received funding from the European Research Council.
Harriet Thomson, Professor of Energy, Sustainability and Inequality, received the award for the EnCUENTA (Energy Divides in Europe: Closing Gaps in Understanding for Transformative Alleviation of Energy Poverty) project.
Despite political talk of just energy transitions, the harsh reality of energy poverty in Europe remains a stark contradiction. Vulnerable communities are not only largely excluded and sometimes negatively impacted by the energy transition, but are increasingly facing a situation where living without energy is the new norm, due to worsening socioeconomic and infrastructural conditions, with significant societal impacts.
Drawing on an unprecedented combination of complexity theory, energy justice, policy science, phenomenology, behavioural science, data feminism, and intersectionality, EnCUENTA will create a new multi-dimensional, multi-scalar theoretical framework of energy poverty that considers individual, institutional, and infrastructural factors, assess the gaps and data injustices found within official energy poverty indicators, and trial innovative lived experience-derived indicators.
EnCUENTA will accelerate inclusive policy design across Europe via experimental randomised controlled trials of policymaker debiasing interventions, alongside recommendations for institutional reforms and new indicators that are fit for purpose in ensuring no one is left behind in European energy policy.
Professor Harriet Thomson, who is Associate Director of the Glasgow Centre for Sustainable Energy, said: “This is a huge win for the research, policy, and practitioner communities working tirelessly to address the worsening issue of energy poverty, which affects millions of households worldwide. I am exceedingly grateful to collaborators around the globe for their support, and for the trust placed in me.
“Winning this prestigious award feels particularly momentous as a queer, first-generation female academic who has lived with chronic illness since birth - identities typically under-represented or invisibilised in academia. I hope it will help me and others to continue contributing to breaking barriers, bringing about a more inclusive academy, and building more sustainable just futures.”
President of the European Research Council, Professor Maria Leptin, said: “Congratulations to all the researchers who have won ERC Consolidator Grants, in this latest round for the mid-career stage. Whilst we had the funds available to back more applicants this year than in 2023, the fact remains that many applicants who were rated as excellent in this competition will still not be funded due to lack of budget. This waste of talent can only be tackled by increasing the investment in blue-sky research in Europe.”
The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded its Consolidator Grants to 328 researchers. These grants, totalling €678 million, aim to support outstanding scientists and scholars as they establish their independent research teams and develop their most promising scientific ideas. The funding is provided through the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.
This annoucement was originally posted on the University news website.
First published: 11 December 2024