Context and challenges

In France, in 2019, around 12% of the population was experiencing energy poverty as a result of high energy costs in relation to low incomes. This issue affects the most vulnerable households, especially single-parent families and people living alone, many of whom are women.

The direct consequences include debt, social withdrawal or exclusion and harmful effects on health connected with the development of mould and the cold.

The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region has not been spared. The coastal areas share the characteristics of the shores of the Mediterranean. Stress on the property market forces the lowest income households to fall back on the most energy-hungry housing: missing or inefficient heating and cooling systems, poor insulation and dilapidated building stock.

3.5 million households are facing energy poverty. This especially affects the poorest 30% of the French population. (Source: ONPE)

Mild winters are punctuated with harsher periods, while increasingly hot summers result in considerable discomfort and sometimes dangerous situations (makeshift heating systems, obstruction of ventilation, etc). Climate change increases the vulnerability of these households everywhere and deepens social inequalities.

Objectives and solutions

With more than 20 years’ experience in the sector, Geres has been placing its expertise and network at the service of the battle against energy poverty.

Its efforts are designed to boost the power to act of households facing energy poverty. The programme begun in 2019 strives to:

• Extend the network of intermediaries helping to identify affected households, especially to health and personal service professionals for purposes of the energy advice home visits.
• Provide complete answers by mobilizing and training the stakeholders in contact with the households.
• Implement appropriate solutions: individual support including energy advice home visits  and assistance with essential works, as well as collective workshops to boost the power to act.
• Facilitate access to finance, through the creation of a fund to assist with essential work.
• Raise awareness of health risks: health/environment/energy workshops for families and intermediaries liaising with health professionals.
• Conduct an advocacy campaign calling for local and national policies to take account of this issue

The programme targets women in particular, tailoring solutions and involving them in identifying vulnerable families, as well as helping them to gain a better understanding of their role.

EmpowerMed, a programme handing power back to women in the face of energy poverty

This Geres programme of action is mainly conducted as part of a European Horizon 2020 project: EmpowerMed, “Empowering women to take action against energy poverty”

Find out more about our European EmpowerMed action programme

The consortium has nine partner members in the Mediterranean and Germany. Through sharing practices and developing common methodologies, it aims to improve the quality of life and health of affected people in the Mediterranean coastal areas by reducing energy poverty.

See the project videos

The partners

Financial partners

• European Union
• Solinergy Endowment fund
• Valorem – Watt for change fund
• Rexel Foundation
• Legallais Foundation
• Les petites pierres Endowment fund
• Qualitel Endowment fund and its partner FASE
• Colis Privé
• Enerlis Solidarité

Technical partners

• Impulse Toit, getting people on job placement schemes to carry out essential work
• Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF)
• European partners (Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania and Germany)