Unveiling energy poverty risk: A multidimensional analysis of the heat-or-eat dilemma

Low-carbon transition can put citizens at risk of energy poverty, and it is crucial to understand why. Energy poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon. Vulnerable households might need to choose between accessing basic nutritional needs and energy: a high expenditure share in food and energy can lead to difficulties in energy affordability, leading to the heat-or-eat dilemma. This research examines the risk of such a dilemma through three dimensions, in Europe. First, at a regional dimension, poorly implemented climate responses might worsen households' accessibility to basic services. Here, food and energy systems are geographically analysed to unearth regions where households are exposed to energy poverty. Second, in a socioeconomic and demographic dimension, not all population groups are equally vulnerable to energy poverty, as their characteristics shape their vulnerability. Therefore, the disposable income of different population groups is scrutinised. Third, changing citizens' lifestyles might increase the risk of energy poverty for those unable to adapt to new living patterns, exposing the need to focus on a lifestyle dimension. As lifestyles are defined by the expenditure share of households in different domains, such as food and energy, expenditure patterns are used to identify households at risk of energy poverty due to exacerbated food and energy expenditure. Ultimately, the results are combined into an overarching composite index, the Heat-or-Eat Risk Index. The data identifies European regions with a higher energy poverty risk due to changes in the energy and food domains, informing the assessment of just and equitable climate responses in European regions. • Presenting a composite index of energy poverty risk: Heat-or-Eat Risk Index (HERI) • Three-scale household-centred approach: regional, lifestyle, and socioeconomic and demographic dimensions • Step-by-step reproducible methodology covering energy poverty multidimensionality • Useful and transferable results to inform policy-making in a low-carbon transition • Supports selection of equitable and just climate measures in European regions