Yordan Yordanov
Opportunities for Improving Social Policy on Energy Poverty in Bulgaria in the Context of the Transition to a Green Economy
Summary:
Energy poverty is one of the significant contemporary challenges, and its containment and control policies are one of the main objectives of the European community on its path to a green economy. More than 96 million Europeans are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, while 57 million cannot heat their homes in winter. Bulgaria is the country with the highest share of the poor and at risk of poverty, including energy-dependent households, which is also confirmed by the values of the Energy Poverty Index, by which our country has the worst indicators among EU Member States.
This development draws attention to the specificities of energy poverty, seen against the background of a generally accepted understanding of social poverty, the possibilities of changing the model for determining the range of energy poor persons and households in Bulgaria and the removal of a set of proposals to limit and control energy poverty, building on passive targeted energy support for heating and perceived as a direction for the development and improvement of social policy in the field of social assistance in Bulgaria.
