Fundamental rights and housing in the EU’s climate and energy transition
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Key findings and FRA opinions
- Integrating fundamental rights into the climate and energy transition
- Strengthening fundamental rights safeguards in designing and implementing energy renovation policies
- The lack of equal access to renovation measures impacts the right to housing
- Protecting the rights of tenants in energy renovations
- People confronted with housing deprivation are at risk of being left behind in the climate and energy transition
- Participation and stakeholder engagement in the energy transition is often a one-off exercise and is not inclusive
- Lack of transparency and information for complaint mechanisms hinder access to justice
- Need for integrated and systematic monitoring and data collection for a just climate and energy transition
- Introduction
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1. Access to energy and the right to housing in the climate and energy transition
- 1.1 International framework on access to affordable and sustainable energy
- 1.2 The link between the right to housing and sustainability
- 1.3 Energy as an essential service in the European Union’s framework
- 1.4 Energy renovations for achieving affordable and sustainable housing in the European Union
- 1.5 Conclusion
- 2. Fundamental rights in the European Union climate and energy governance
- 3. Non-discrimination and leaving no one behind in the energy transition
- 4. Participation and stakeholder engagement in the energy transition
- 5. Accountability: effective structures for fundamental-rights-compliant energy policy implementation
- Conclusions
- Annex 1 – Methodology
- Acronyms and abbreviations
- About this publication
In 2024, FRA collected data with a focus on the priority strand of the EU Green Deal of clean, affordable and secure energy, and specifically on measures addressing energy renovations in residential buildings and/or energy poverty, to explore fundamental rights implications, challenges, gaps and promising practices. The research was conducted by the FRA research network (Franet) and covered desk research in the EU-27 and three FRA observer countries (Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia), followed by in-depth fieldwork case studies in 10 selected EU Member States (Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden). These countries were selected because they had at the time draft National Climate and Energy Plans and Just Transition Plans and based on information they provided on green transition projects and its social impact. Additional selection criteria considered were geographical coverage and variation in exposure to the impacts of climate change.
The fieldwork case studies included initial desk research to identify major programmes and projects suitable for in-depth research according to their relevance, validity and feasibility to be researched (see Table 3).
Relevance:
- A major action within a region or country to contribute to the EU and national climate targets or climate resilience.
- An action with clear impact on citizens with known or expected risks of unequal enjoyment of fundamental rights, access to services and distribution of means.
- Groups can be identified which are disproportionally affected by the action or by consequences of climate change, including characteristics protected under anti-discrimination law.
- The action could potentially deepen existing inequalities and structural discrimination.
- A region or group which is particularly vulnerable to climate risks.
Validity:
- The action is exemplary for implementing climate action.
- The action has not yet been assessed along similar research questions.
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The action should contain several elements of the research dimensions:
- monitoring,
- decision-making and participation,
- safeguards,
- specific projects for vulnerable groups,
- social acceptability.
Feasibility:
- Action has started and is sufficiently developed to be further explored.
- Stakeholders can be identified, documentation is available.
- Research is possible and interviewees can be identified.
- Data can be obtained.
- Research is possible within the timeline and available resources.
Meeting all these criteria proved difficult, as many projects have not fully started or only little information was available. Furthermore, the research faced practical difficulties such as the non-availability of experts or information. For example, in Sweden the project initially selected focusing on the Northvolt battery factory had to be replaced after police investigations were initiated due to alleged irregularities.
The projects identified in all countries at the desk research stage showed significant differences, in type, scale and stage of implementation. Therefore, the analysis in this report combines comparative research and a case study approach to identify how fundamental rights are taken into consideration in the climate and energy transition. The projects were not evaluated in depth, but contextual information was collected to understand the logic of processes and interventions.
Each country conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with experts coordinating and implementing programmes, representatives of public authorities, civil society organisations and other policy and academic experts between June and November 2024.
Some of the projects and programmes have undergone changes since fieldwork was implemented, for example, in France, Poland and Belgium the programmes were put on hold, either due to investigations on irregularities and fraudulent practices or because of shifting political priorities, and the programme criteria have been amended. As data collection was finalised in late 2024, the report does not account for these developments.