Energy Efficiency Financing, an Opportunity to Reduce Energy Poverty in the South-East Region of Romania

Abstract

Increasingly pressing aspects of the energy transition underline the recurring question about a measure of equity in this process, refering to individuals and communities. The European countries’strategies to address energy poverty include energy efficiency policies, which, however, require significant funding support. We propose, therefore, to carry out a study on how the European funding from the 2014-2020 programming period for energy efficiency was accessed in the SouthEastern region of Romania. The research methods used are case study and comparative analysis. We used the open data published by the management authorities for the operational programs in Romania and those of the European Commission. The results reveal the imbalance between the urban and the rural environment in terms of accessing non-reimbursable financing for energy efficiency. The conclusions of this study could be used in order to support local authorities to enhance their capacity to access financing in the period 2021-2027 as well.

Keywords

• energy efficiency
• energy poverty
• energy transition
• cohesion policy
• sustainable development