The role of poverty and gender on households’ energy use in selected European countries

Abstract

In the context of Sustainable Development Goals, declining poverty (Goal 1) and achieving gender equality (Goal 5) are still behind the track, and the gaps are not yet ready to be rapidly fulfilled. As part of Goal 7, energy consumption-related targets still lack the potential to be targeted. Considering these elements, this study aims to determine the impact of poverty and gender equality on the energy consumption of households in several European countries. Using data from 2010 to 2022 and a pooled OLS based on Driskoll- Kraay estimators, we found statistically significant results regarding the impact of poverty (a negative sign) and gender (a negative sign) on household energy consumption. Accordingly, various stakeholder recommendations are presented based on the study results.