When winter kills – Article by Eleni Mavrou, AKEL Political Bureau member

 

Article by Eleni Mavrou, AKEL Political Bureau member

Sunday 9 January 2022, ‘Haravgi’ newspaper

Three of our fellow human beings have died in the last few days trying to keep warm. Two from fumes, lighting coals, and the third when his clothes caught fire from an electric heater left on in the cold evening.

Energy poverty is not just on the doorstep, it has tragically knocked on our door.

Energy poverty is the difficulty or inability of a household to provide adequate heating in their home. And don’t listen that this only happens in some distant, poor countries.

Cyprus leads the way in energy poverty, with 180,000 people living in households that are financially unable to have adequate heating in their homes, according to a report released by the European Statistical Office in early November 2021. The percentage of such households rises to 21% and is the third highest across the EU, where the average is just 8%. In some categories of households, such as those with incomes below 60% of the average income, the rate reaches 42%!

The inability of thousands of households to have sufficient heating in their homes is linked to low wages and poverty. Fuel/energy prices have soared in recent months. Across the EU, gas prices have reached 10 times the level of two years ago. And winter is upon us…

Winter has intensified the crisis and this is not only affecting the economy’s prospects, but also people’s lives. The global shortage of energy resources is fuelling rising prices and energy poverty is creating new inequalities and inflaming social tensions.

EU Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, said months ago that “there are tools” that EU countries can make use of to address the situation. Already some governments have moved to subsidies (e.g. in France) or to reduce energy taxes (e.g. in Spain).

In Cyprus, on the contrary, the DISY government continues to obstruct the efforts of the majority of Parliament, on the initiative taken by AKEL, to reduce, at least, the VAT on electricity from 19% to 9%.

Of course, despite the extraordinary measures that some governments have been forced to take, the planning is deficient at an all-European level. The notorious EU energy strategy should aim to combat energy poverty and ensure equal access to energy as a public good for all. Instead, it is confined to issues of competitiveness, as if that will keep people warm in winter.

Cyprus, for its part, although it has great potential for exploiting renewable sources, still uses conventional fuels to produce electricity. As a result, citizens are bearing the unbearable financial burden of the government’s failure, paying further increases in the already very high fuel prices, due to the mandatory blending of biofuels into motor fuels.

Energy is a social good to which all citizens should have access to, and at low prices. This obligation is not covered by wishful thinking and vague commitments.