On gender aspects of the rising cost of living and the impact of the energy crisis

–having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility,

–having regard to Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms,

–having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2022 on the social and economic consequences for the EU of the Russian war in Ukraine – reinforcing the EU’s capacity to act,

–having regard to its resolution of 5 July 2022 on women’s poverty in Europe,

–having regard to the European Court of Auditor’s Special Report of 26 May 2021 entitled ‘Gender mainstreaming in the EU budget: time to turn words into action’,

–having regard to Commission Recommendation (EU) 2020/1563 of 14 October 2020 on energy poverty,

–having regard to the International Energy Agency’s end-use energy prices and taxes data,

–having regard to the International Monetary Fund’s report of October 2022 entitled ‘The Fog of War Clouds the European Outlook’,

–having regard to Eurostat’s 2022 study entitled ‘Living conditions in Europe’,

–having regard to Eurostat’s briefing paper of 10 February 2022 entitled ‘Energy prices on the rise in the euro area in 2021’,

–having regard to Eurofound’s report of 28 October 2022 entitled ‘The cost-of-living crisis and energy poverty in the EU: Social impact and policy responses – Background paper’,

–having regard to the European Institute for Gender Equality’s 2021 and 2022 Gender Equality Indexes,

–having regard to its Autumn 2022 Eurobarometer survey,

–having regard to the study entitled ‘Gender perspective on access to energy in the EU’, published by its Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union on 18 December 2017,

–having regard to the briefing entitled ‘Gender Aspects of Energy Poverty’, published by its Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union on 1 March 2023,

–having regard to the study entitled ‘The Gender Dimension and Impact of the Fit for 55 Package’, published by its Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union on 6 December 2022 ,

–having regard to the briefing entitled ‘Energy poverty in the EU’, published by its Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services on 18 September 2023,

–having regard to the opinion of 12 May 2022 by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy efficiency,

–having regard to the report of 7 April 2021 by the Committee on Development on the impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations in developing countries and the opinion by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of 2 October 2020,

–having regard to its resolution of 10 February 2021 on reducing inequalities with a special focus on in-work poverty,

–having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

–having regard to the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A9-0000/2023),

A.whereas, since 2021, inflation has increased sharply, driven primarily by high energy and food costs, and exacerbated by the unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine; whereas wages are not projected to increase as fast as inflation, thus creating a cost of living crisis; whereas this crisis acutely threatens women’s livelihoods, health, well-being and access to housing, while limiting their purchasing power and ability to provide food;

B.whereas the Commission adopted a series of measures in March 2022 following the Versailles Declaration, aimed at supporting Ukraine’s agricultural production, strengthening the resilience of the EU and mitigating the spike in food prices for European consumers;

C.whereas women in all their diversity are disproportionately affected by the consequences of the cost of living crisis, as they tend to be among the poorest part of the population, are highly represented in precarious jobs, have lower incomes as a result of the pay and pension gaps, and are still expected to carry out the bulk of unpaid care work, leaving them with fewer resources to protect themselves against the negative impact of the crisis;

D.whereas climate change and climate-related disasters exacerbate the cost of living crisis and the risk of poverty; whereas the groups already living on the margins are being hit the hardest by the volatility of the fossil fuel energy system, while energy and food companies are making record profits;

E.whereas energy poverty represents a huge challenge for the EU, as between 50 and 125 million people are unable to afford proper indoor thermal comfort;

F.whereas women, particularly single parents and those experiencing intersectional discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, race, migration status, sexual orientation, disability or age, are more likely to fall into energy poverty; whereas this means that the ongoing cost of living crisis will exacerbate gendered energy poverty in the EU;

G.whereas there is little awareness or data available on the impact of energy poverty on women in the EU; whereas the EU Energy Poverty Observatory does not deliver gender-disaggregated data in its publicly accessible set of indicators; whereas only a few Member States have adopted definitions of energy poverty and energy poverty indicators, which usually do not take gender into account;

H.whereas the Commission has not delivered on its commitment set out in the Gender Equality Strategy to integrate a gender perspective into all major Commission initiatives, including the European Green Deal and related policies;

I.whereas the Commission is obliged to promote gender equality under the Treaties; whereas, however, the European Court of Auditors considers that a gender perspective has not been integrated into the EU budget;

J.whereas gender equality concerns are largely missing from the green transition and digital transformation pillars of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which represents a missed opportunity to effectively integrate gender equality into climate and environmental objectives;

K.whereas a gender perspective is missing from the Member States’ and EU’s policies and measures aimed at countering and alleviating the effects of the cost of living crisis; whereas about two thirds of the measures introduced by Member States to mitigate rising inflation rates are not targeted at particular groups in vulnerable situations and only provide short-term solutions instead of responses that will contribute to a socially fair and green transition;

Feminisation of energy poverty and gender responses to the crisis

1.Calls on the Commission to deliver on the commitment made by President von der Leyen to promote gender equality in all policymaking; calls for a European Green Deal and just and socially fair transition that works for all by developing a gender-transformative intersectional strategy to address energy poverty, and by increasing public investment in social, affordable and energy-efficient housing;

2.Calls for the Member States and the EU to urgently guarantee affordable utilities and food for low-income households and, in particular, for those facing intersectional discrimination; stresses that no one should have to freeze in the height of winter or overheat in the scorching summer months and calls for the Member States and the EU to ban energy disconnections;

3.Calls on the Member States to increase public investment in policies that, directly or indirectly, aim to counteract the negative effects of the cost of living crisis on women in all their diversity, to guarantee access to high-quality public services for care, education, health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, and housing, and to protect victims of gender-based violence;

4.Calls on the Commission to assess and propose, where appropriate, new legislative acts to counter the financialisation of housing markets and to stop speculators from making housing unaffordable;

5.Highlights that access to electricity plays a fundamental role in poverty reduction and in ensuring full and equal participation in society; calls for the EU and the Member States to recognise the right to energy;

6.Calls on the Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy to develop a gender action plan that ensures that all EU energy legislation, including the right to energy sharing as mentioned in Directive (EU) 2018/2001, integrates the gender dimension and develops specific measures and targeted funds to combat the feminisation of energy poverty;

7.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the inclusion of gender and intersectional dimensions in all schemes for energy efficiency and renewable electricity, so as to support the citizens most affected by energy poverty;

8.Calls on the Commission and the Member States to request gender-disaggregated data on energy poverty from Eurostat; calls, in this respect, on the EU Energy Poverty Observatory to use such data to develop and select gender-specific indicators that would allow evidence-based policy development in that area, in consultation with the European Institute for Gender Equality, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European Environment Agency;

9.Calls on the Commission to require the Member States to conduct gender impact assessments in national energy and climate plans, including when reporting on energy poverty;

Towards a gender-inclusive green transition

10.Recalls that the green transition is necessary to avoid severe future crises and increased poverty; recalls, furthermore, that the green transition will only be socially fair if it includes a gender perspective and guarantees equal opportunities for women and those experiencing intersectional discrimination; calls, therefore, on the Commission to appoint an EU gender and climate coordinator with sufficient staff and funding, and to introduce gender impact assessments in all EU policies and legislation, in particular in European Green Deal initiatives;

11.Stresses that women have a strategic role to play in the green transition, as they are key actors in the development of sustainable and ecologically sound consumption and production patterns, as well as in business and policymaking;

12.Deplores the fact that women are significantly under-represented in key policymaking positions on climate change and the environment, and calls for the EU and the Member States to ensure equal and diverse representation in decision-making positions across the EU institutions, government bodies and public authorities at all governance levels;

13.Calls on the Commission to reduce the gender gap in the energy sector and to ensure that women have equal access to training courses on energy efficiency and to emerging job opportunities in the energy sector;

14.Calls on the Commission and the Council to commit to gender budgeting and to ensure that it is applied to the entire EU budget, and that the European Court of Auditor’s recommendations are fully implemented, including in the mid-term review of the current multiannual financial framework and the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility;

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15.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.