The Aarhus Convention, to which the EU and all Member States are parties, enshrines the right of access to information in environmental matters (Article 4). The EED in Article 22 requires Member States to ensure that the public is informed in a transparent and accessible way about the available energy efficiency improvement measures. Article 18 EPBD requires Member States to establish one-stop shops to provide information about the energy performance of buildings and offer dedicated services for vulnerable households, people affected by energy poverty or in low-income households.

FRA’s fieldwork findings show limited efforts with regards to awareness-raising and information campaigns. All too often available information was online-only, formulated in technical language or did not present the programmes’ complexities in a clear manner. Without targeted communication strategies, people belonging to specific groups may not be aware of energy transition programmes, even less so how to benefit from them. At the same time, promising practices were identified, including targeted outreach efforts that take into account the different situations of potential applicants.

Table 6 – Information campaign and channels

Source: FRA, based on Franet (2024) country reports.

A survey in France showed that the programme MaPrimeRénov’ was among the most well-known aid programmes in France. Agence nationale de l’habitat (ANAH), the operator of the programme, raised public awareness of the programme itself but also of the topic of energy efficiency, via local mobile outreach initiatives, local advice centres and regional advisors throughout the country. Targeted communication and guidance for vulnerable groups was mainly provided by associations such as Solidaires pour l’Habitat.

ANAH is carrying out a ‘tour de France’ to reach out to users. In fact, I think there is a dual interest: first, to go and educate, to explain, to present the systems, so it is also an approach to ‘reach out’ or to inform. But these are also approaches that allow [them] to recover information and elements of satisfaction in all ways.

France, public authority.

In Czechia, interviewees pointed to the 2024 educational television series broadcast on Czech television as a successful dissemination tool and a driver for increasing public awareness on energy efficiency topics (see Promising practice – Educational TV series in Czechia).

The research also points to the importance of targeted efforts at the local level. In some programmes, while targeted and accessible information campaigns to reach marginalised communities are largely missing, local stakeholders contribute to outreach. For example, in Poland, collaboration with parish priests helped to promote the programme in smaller communities. In Romania, a civil society organisation (Greenpeace Romania) has, on its own initiative, developed  a website about the programme informing potential applicants about the benefits of producing their own energy and how to handle the administrative requirements of the programme.

Interviews highlighted that in many cases, the programmes are broadly accepted in society. Related major challenges are often linked to problems with their implementation. For example, insufficient technical advice (e.g. on the most suitable heating technology), concerns about fairness and equal access to the programmes, instances of fraud and lack of related safeguards, along with unpredictability related to funding.

Participation is a key element of a human-rights-based approach, and is an international obligation under the Aarhus Convention (Articles 6 to 8). The European Green Deal recognises that active public participation, involvement and commitment of the public and of all stakeholders is crucial to the success of the transition, with EU citizens as its driving force. Public consultation is one mechanism to enable participation. The Governance Regulation requires Member States to ensure that the public is given early and effective opportunities to participate in the preparation of the integrated national energy and climate plans and long-term strategies (Article 10) and to establish multilevel climate and energy dialogue bringing together different stakeholders from all levels of governance (Article 11). The EPBD obliges Member States to carry out public consultations in preparation of NBRPs, involving in particular local and regional authorities and other socioeconomic partners, including civil society and bodies working with vulnerable households to facilitate the effective implementation of the directive (Articles 3(4), 29–30).

The EEA briefing on public participation in sustainability transitions stresses that involving the public is essential in designing and implementing these transitions. The Eurofound brief emphasises that multistakeholder partnerships are essential for a socially just transition and identifies enablers and barriers to strengthen such partnerships.

FRA’s research has identified that stakeholder consultations were in place in preparation for some of the programmes, for example in Czechia through the State Environmental Fund and by consulting key stakeholders of the programme in Estonia.

In Belgium, various stakeholders were consulted during the design and implementation phases of Rénopack. Measures were taken to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities, and people with lower digital skills, through phone assistance and face-to-face support.

[These] consultations […] had the merit of being truly open, of bringing together a huge number of stakeholders and of having a dialogue between consumer associations, anti-poverty associations, real estate agencies, social agencies, the entire social housing sector too [… as] it is also a big issue in renovation for disadvantaged groups.

Belgium, expert.

Participation during the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes, or regular consultations with the Member State’s authorities, are not foreseen in the majority of the programmes, with the exception of the French programme MaPrimeRénov’, which is subject to review by the National Housing Council (Conseil national de l’habitat), a multi-stakeholder consultative body of the Ministry of Housing.

The findings in Spain point to the importance of continuous engagement activities to build and maintain trust (Parreño-Rodriguez et al., 2023). Interviews confirmed the importance of local political commitment in fostering stakeholder engagement and the need for more personnel to effectively and sustainably engage with the affected communities.

In countries where consultations were organised, interviewees often pointed to the lack of transparency in the processes and clarity about why certain inputs are reflected and others are not. In Romania, the programme draft was open to public consultation as required by national law and published on the website of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests. However, it was seen as a ‘tick-box’ exercise, with 10 days to submit feedback via email and lacking genuine effort to engage with stakeholders. Programmes in Greece and Poland lacked structured public consultations – experts highlighted that only ad hoc consultations were conducted with stakeholders, often selected in a discretionary way and without sufficient public information about the processes and decisions.

The right to participation and access to information is key to ensuring a just climate and energy transition. However, programmes assessed across the EU often fall short of ensuring meaningful and inclusive engagement. Information about programmes is frequently inaccessible or overly technical, and targeted outreach to vulnerable groups is rare, diminishing the ability of those most affected to access the programmes. Strengthening rights-based, inclusive participation and transparent communication is essential to ensuring that all rights holders can contribute to and benefit from the energy transition in the EU.