REVERTER was proud to take part in the Panels: Energy poverty situation in Portugal (Paula Fonseca, ISR) and Local Action (Inês Cunha CMC) at the conference “Combating Energy Poverty: Knowledge, Action and Community Voices”, organised by the National Strategy to Combat Poverty.
This important event brought together researchers, practitioners, and community leaders to share knowledge and strategies for addressing energy poverty across Portugal.
Our team presented the OSS in COIMBRA and contributed with insights on how local action, community engagement, and evidence-based policies can drive meaningful change for vulnerable households, particularly focusing on social housing challenges:
- When refurbishment work is carried out, it is often limited to superficial renovations due to budgetary constraints. This approach doesn’t address the root of the problem, leading to low-quality work that does little to improve energy efficiency or living conditions.
- Municipalities, the main owners of social housing in Portugal, face significant challenges in financing energy renovations. Unlike private landlords, they cannot raise rents, which are very low, to recoup investment costs, making it difficult to finance large-scale improvements.
To move towards a more just and sustainable energy future, there is a need for a greater articulation between different ministries and policies (energy, climate, economy, social, housing, etc.). We suggest a streamlining approach between NECPs, Social Climate Fund and subsidising social policies may be more effective.
