Press release
25 August 2020

In Europe, 104 million people cannot maintain their home comfortable during summer, an issue even more important in the Mediterranean, where heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense. Energy poverty causes many inconveniences for those who suffer from it: economic difficulties, inability to pay bills, social isolation or even health problems. Empowering women to fight against energy poverty in the Mediterranean, limit the impacts on health and social and gender inequalities, these are the objectives set by the 9 partners of the EmpowerMed project. The project is now launching its communication campaign by putting online its website and video clip.

Women as a pillar in the fight against energy poverty in the Mediterranean

Energy poverty occurs when a household cannot achieve the minimum level of domestic energy consumption required for satisfying basic needs. 57 million of people in Europe are affected by it, among them especially women. The EmpowerMed project is betting on taking gender inequalities into account by improving the living conditions of more than 10,000 people, of whom at least 60 % are women.

High prevalence of energy poverty in coastal areas of the Mediterranean

Not just heat waves are making Mediterranean more vulnerable to energy poverty. Coastal areas in the Mediterranean face issues such as lack of isolation in buildings, lack of central-heating systems, high heating and cooling costs, housing unaffordability, low quality jobs, leading to precarity and high prevalence of so-called working poor.

European project EmpowerMed will offer help to the most affected

Against this background, European project EmpowerMed was created to tackle energy poverty in the Mediterranean, with a focus on women. Energy visits to households, with installing free energy saving devices, will be offered. Collective assemblies and do-it-yourself workshops will equip people to improve well-being in their homes and communities. Apart from tackling energy poverty in practice, the project will also provide policy recommendations to tackle energy poverty at systemic level. This four-year project brings together 9 partners from 7 European countries (Albania, Croatia, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia) to empower over 4,200 households, affected by energy poverty.

EmpowerMed’s website and video clip reflecting the project scope

The website empowermed.eu sheds light on the challenges and developments in the fight against energy poverty. The video clip below highlights the challenges and activities of the project, as well as outlines the expected impacts. The video is available here:

Press contact
Sadki Kamel, Energy & Environment Project Manager
k.sadki@geres.eu

You can follow EmpowerMed news on social media: Facebook (Empowermed.eu) and Twitter (@EmpowerMed.eu) or visit our website www.empowermed.eu. We at WECF are implementing project partners in the EmpowerMed consortium.

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 This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 847052. The sole responsibility for the content of this document lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the EASME nor the European Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.