Assessing energy poverty indicators towards club convergence in Europe

Energy poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon tied to discrimination, injustice, and energy aporophobia. The study’s motivation is to explore convergence among 31 European states from 2005 to 2022, using the log t regression test and club clustering. Energy poverty can be measured through three indicators: (i) arrears on utility bills (Arrears), (ii) ability to pay to keep the home adequately warm (Inadequately Warm), and (iii) the presence of a leaking roof, damp walls or rotten windows (Leaks). The novelty lies in quantifying energy poverty with these indicators and analyzing convergence in various regions, including the application of a robustness ordered-logit text and a slope-homogeneity test. The empirical results show that countries with the lowest Arrears scores, like Norway and Sweden, exhibit weak convergence, while those with the highest, such as Greece and Türkiye, demonstrate absolute convergence. For Inadequately Warm, Norway and Iceland also show absolute convergence, whereas for the Leaks indicator, Northern Europe performs better than Southern and Western regions. Geographically, Arrears reveal a core-periphery divide, while Inadequately Warm and Leaks highlight a North–South differentiation.