Michael Carnegie LaBelle

The Organization of the Petroleum‐Exporting Countries (OPEC) used oil as a weapon against Western countries supporting Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. From 2021, Russia used a similar strategy of restricting gas flows to Europe, while Europe later reduced Russia's market access. In these cases, there was economic and political damage. These examples show that energy is a weapon used to pressure sovereign states. Energy is a multidimensional resource that reflects broader ties within the political‐economic system of international relations. This comparative study identifies four components that enable energy as a weapon: interdependence, energy security, neoliberal economics and sovereignty. Four key policy lessons emerge to improve energy security: (1) determine the acceptable limits of energy dependence, (2) acknowledge institutions and markets cannot deliver energy security outside their design parameters, (3) energy security requires addressing the entire value chain, and (4) energy is a weapon that threatens state sovereignty. The collapse of the gas trade between Russia and the EU creates instability and removes the pillar of interdependency; this now ushers in a new era.

Objective: In this paper, we fundamentally question the Fit for 55 starting assumption that reducing household energy consumption is beneficial or even neutral (i.e. not detrimental) for households in all Member States in the short period up to 2030. This article identifies the plight of households unable to improve their well-being without increasing the consumption of fossil fuels. Tackling energy poverty and addressing social inequality issues is a cornerstone. Around 35 million people live in energy poverty in the European Union (European Commission, 2023), and tens of millions more are at high risk of energy poverty. However, ensuring the well-being of EU citizens requires a broader awareness of the implications of reducing fossil fuel use. Research Design and Methods: The research methodology relies on a range of quantitative methods: Gini coefficient, Hoover index, Decomposition adjusted Hoover index, rank correlation coefficient, path analysis, and decoupling factors are presented. We also analyze from different perspectives highlighting inequalities and the direct and indirect relationship between residential energy use and HDI and decoupling. Findings: Based on projected policy impacts, consumers will need to pay more for using fossil fuels. Higher energy taxes will likely impact middle-class families who are not the EU’s Climate Fund targets. Based on our previous projections, at least the bottom two-thirds of the middle class (which roughly represents the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quintiles) also need support. There is a risk that in countries where HDI and per capita household energy use are still tightly connected, the growth in household energy use (driven mainly by higher incomes and increasing human welfare) will be strongly constrained by higher energy costs. In the EU energy convergence will slow down, or even stop, so that the current spatial disparities in HDI and in residential energy use will persist. Implications: Decreasing the differences in HDI and residential energy use is necessary to achieve social and economic convergence and reduce the inequalities in living standards across the EU Member States. Changes in household energy use in the EU have both direct and indirect impacts on HDI; any increase or decrease in energy use will be immediately reflected in human well-being. Contribution/Value Added: This article highlighted those countries most exposed to a reduction in well-being. Member States below the saturation point are at a much higher risk of negative impacts of residential energy use on human development. Tackling energy poverty is a very important issue, but in this case, at least the bottom two-thirds of the middle class (which roughly represents the 2nd, 3rd, 4th quintiles) also need support. This could include preferential loans, grants, and technical assistance to enable them to make the necessary energy efficiency improvements and deep renovations that will bring real energy savings.

An analysis of the 27 European Union (EU) member states over the years 2000–2018 examines the relationship between residential energy use per capita and human well-being, measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). The EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ policy package to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may derail post-communist member states’ convergence (PCMS) to the same level of well-being of households in old member states (OMS). The aim of this article is to assess both the direct and indirect relationship between residential energy use per capita and human well-being. The findings indicate a direct connection in addition to the indirect effect between them. Therefore, reducing or leveling off residential energy consumption in PCMS will prevent human development convergence within the EU. The findings indicate the lack of convergence, because of the ‘Fit for 55’ policy package assumption of a decline of residential energy consumption in all member states could stagnate or lower HDI in PCMS and prevent policy implementation.

This article proposes the energy justice framework can benefit from a radical reframing to expose broader structural injustices in the transitions towards a net-zero energy system. There are two objectives of this paper: First, is to outline how energy justice can provide a radical critique of injustices of the energy system – a more activist centered approach; and second, to use energy justice to identify who is responsible for unjust policies within the energy system. The second point is important to understand what is meant by a ‘just transition.’ Who decides how others are compensated for the transition and the loss of their jobs? The theoretical limitation of energy justice is the normative framing which does not identify the structural causes of injustice and avoids identifying the source causing the structural injustice. This article develops and applies radical energy justice to the case of the Jiu Valley in Romania, a coal-mining region, and an early site for the European Union’s Green Deal Just Transition Mechanism.