Rise up for International Energy Poverty Action Week

It’s never been clearer that our current energy system is failing people and planet. This year’s energy poverty awareness week is taking place from 21 to 25 Feb. It’s an opportunity to raise a collective voice for those facing energy poverty and demanding the right to energy for all.

The right to energy coalition is organising a twitter storm all week, with a special kick-off event on Monday 21 Feb at 10:00 CET. You can join in! We’re inviting everyone to tweet their demands, hopes, solutions and stories from the ground using the hashtag, RightToEnergy.

Energy poverty is not a personal burden, it’s a systemic issue that is exacerbated by Covid19 and the energy price crisis.  But even before that, 1 in 4 European households  struggled to adequately heat, cool, or light their homes.

The entwined impact of COVID-19, inefficient housing, weather extremes and the wholesale pricing of the energy market has led to a large spike in energy costs. Whilst corporations continue to reap massive profits from fossil gas energy, uncertain and arbitrary prices pose a direct threat to Europeans facing the reality of energy poverty this winter. Recent figures indicate that 80 million Europeans are currently at risk of being forced to choose between eating or heating their homes.

The time is now, to call for a political response that affects millions of Europeans whilst damaging the climate at the same time. Energy poverty is not a personal burden, it’s a structural failure; one that requires a strong response from our leaders.

Join us to raise awareness and share solutions on social media with the hashtags #RightToEnergy and #EndEnergyPoverty. The week will kick-off at 21 Feb 10:00 CET so have your tweets at the ready. The rest of the week will be a themed continuation, highlighting the different groups who are affected and/or work on ending energy poverty.

Organisations, grassroots activists and policymakers will launch the social media campaign to gather ideas, share experiences and come up with ways to eradicate one of the most pressing issues of this year.

Each day has a different theme:

Monday 21st Feb: Right to clean, affordable energy for all

Tuesday 22nd Feb: Heat Homes not the climate

Wednesday 23rd Feb: Exposing our unjust energy system for profit over people and planet

Thursday 24th Feb: Protect our wallets, not industries 

Friday 25th Feb: Political Commitments: from words to action 

See you there! Together we can call for a right to clean, affordable energy for all.

Visit Facebook and Twitter to find out more. Also take a look at the programme from the International Energy Poverty Action Week organisers.