Warm Homes for All

Ireland’s current energy system isn’t working. Our energy supply is still dominated by fossil fuels, our buildings are inefficient and one in three Irish households are now living in energy poverty. This number is likely to increase as we face a winter with further energy price hikes. Energy poverty harms the most vulnerable: low-income families, single-parent homes (which are 86% women-led), the elderly and people of colour. 

The energy poverty and energy pollution crises share the same root causes - and can be solved with the same shared solutions. Making this an exciting issue for climate activists to get working on! We’ve been doing some thinking on the measures Government must take to cut people’s energy bills, save energy and reduce pollution. This has informed a five point plan that we’ve urged the Government to adopt to prepare for winter and the increased energy challenges it will bring.

Working on energy poverty is providing us with new opportunities to collaborate with a diverse range of groups and organisations - and to stand in solidarity with those who are most impacted by some of the issues we work on. We’ve been working with NGOs from the environmental and anti-poverty sectors to develop shared demands that we can put to the Government to tackle both energy poverty and climate pollution.

Energy-efficient renovations are a fast and easy way to slash emissions, reduce fossil fuel use, slash energy bills and improve people’s homes! They also create lots of green local jobs. Renovations like this are often referred to as “retrofitting”. At the moment there are several barriers to retrofitting in Ireland which need to be identified and addressed so that we can dramatically scale up the number of energy efficient homes in Ireland, starting with those in energy poverty.