Fuel Poverty and Race

Addressing Fuel Poverty through an Anti-Racism Lens – Evelyn James?

Fuel poverty—a condition where households are unable to afford adequate heating, lighting, and energy for daily living. This is a growing pandemic in Wales and across the UK. While it is often viewed as an economic or environmental challenge, it is a social justice issue, also deeply intertwined with racial inequality.??

In Wales, where 45% of households struggle to heat their homes and 632 people die annually due to cold conditions, we must recognise how this crisis disproportionately impacts marginalised communities.??

On this Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, it is essential to highlight how race and systemic inequities contribute to and exacerbate fuel poverty among ethnic minority communities.?

Fuel Poverty Through an Intersectional Lens?

For ethnic minority communities, the struggles of fuel poverty are amplified by racial inequalities in housing, employment, and income. These disparities often leave families in poorly insulated, energy-inefficient homes or dependent on prepayment meters, which charge higher rates. Such systemic issues reflect the bias and inequities embedded in our systems, which perpetuate poverty and poor health outcomes in already disadvantaged groups.?

Disproportionate Impact on Ethnic Minority Communities?

1. Low Income Levels: Ethnic minorities are more likely to be in lower-paid jobs or face barriers to employment due to racial discrimination, reducing their ability to afford rising energy costs.?
2. Housing Inequality: Many ethnic minority families live in older, poorly insulated housing that requires more energy to heat, leading to higher bills. This is often linked to a lack of access to quality housing due to systemic barriers and, at times, discrimination.?
3. Energy Access Inequality: Prepayment meters—commonly associated with higher energy costs—are disproportionately used by ethnic minority households, locking them into cycles of high expenses.?
4. Health Implications: Living in cold, damp homes can have severe health consequences, including respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular conditions, and mental health issues. These health risks compound existing racial health inequalities, as ethnic minority communities already face barriers to accessing healthcare services and experience higher rates of chronic illness.?

The Role of Anti-Racism in Tackling Fuel Poverty?

Addressing fuel poverty must be a cornerstone of anti-racism work in housing. By embedding racial equity into fuel poverty strategies, we can work towards sustainable and just solutions.??

The Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan as refreshed by Welsh Government calls for institutions to embed anti-racism into all areas of work, including housing. This plan calls to action housing bodies and the government in tackling issues like fuel poverty through an intersectional lens. It’s not enough to address housing or energy efficiency in isolation; we must also dismantle the systemic barriers that sustain racial and economic inequities.?

Actionable Solutions:?

Addressing fuel poverty requires an intersectional and anti-racist approach:?

• The Right to Adequate Housing: Recognizing housing as a human right, as advocated by Tai Pawb, Shelter Cymru and CIH Cymru Back the Bill campaign, can drive investments in energy-efficient, affordable homes. Principles like habitability, affordability, and security offer a framework for housing bodies to design solutions that prioritize vulnerable communities.?

• Targeted Support: Policies should prioritize households at the intersection of racial and economic inequality. This includes equitable access to insulation, heating systems, and housing upgrades, and ending exploitative practices like prepayment meters.?

• Continuous Learning: Anti-racism training is critical for housing providers and policymakers to recognize and dismantle biases that perpetuate inequalities. Tai Pawb’s Anti-racism eLearning is one such resource that helps create equitable housing systems.?

• Climate Justice and Equity: Housing accounts for 9% of Wales’ greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing fuel poverty through an anti-racist lens ensures that ethnic minority and low-income households benefit from energy-efficient upgrades and reduced costs.?

• A Shared Responsibility: The Welsh Government’s consultation on Housing Adequacy offers a golden opportunity to make systemic changes. However, this requires accountability to commitments made in the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan. Housing bodies, policymakers, and advocates must hold themselves to the highest standards, ensuring that all solutions are inclusive and equitable.?

Also, including ethnic minority communities to co-create solutions, amplify lived experiences, and ensure interventions are culturally appropriate is key to tackling these inequalities.?

Moving Beyond Words to Action!!?

As part of our Deeds Not Words pledge, we at Tai Pawb are committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders and housing bodies to addressing inequalities in housing. This includes:?

• Our anti-racism courses, particularly Antiracism e-learning and hate crime e-learning – here Tai Pawb Hwb | which provides supporting training for housing providers to recognize and address racial inequities wholistically.?

• Our anti-racism toolkit -? including examples of other organisations plans in tackling inequalities in housing.?

• Advocating for inclusive policymaking at both local and national levels.?

On this Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, let’s remember that the fight against fuel poverty is also a fight against racial injustice. By combining anti-racist principles with housing policies, we can address the root causes of inequality and create a Wales where every person has access to a warm, safe, healthy and affordable home.?

Let’s continue learning, listening, and taking action. Together, we can turn our commitments into meaningful change—because tackling racism in housing is not just about policies, but about lives.?

Useful Resources:?

• Welsh Government Fuel Poverty Plan - 42419 Welsh Government Plan to Tackle Fuel Poverty?

• The Cost of Poor Housing: Public Health Wales Evidence Review - Poor housing costs health service ￡95m per year – new report - Public Health Wales?

• Energy Inequality and Racial Disparities: Citizens Advice Reports on Prepayment Meters - Millions left in the cold and dark as someone on a prepayment meter cut off every 10 seconds, reveals Citizens Advice - Citizens Advice?

• Back the Bill – The Right to adequate housing - Back the Bill - Tai Pawb?

• Anti-racist Wales Action Plan - An anti-racist Wales | GOV.WALES?

• Housing and Climate Targets: Committee on Climate Change Report on Welsh Housing Emissions - Progress Report: Reducing emissions in Wales - Climate Change Committee?

• Tai Pawb Anti-Racism Toolkit: https://www.taipawb.org/anti-racism/?

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