RP3038: Lower Income Barriers to Low Carbon Living

_{Peer Reviewed Research Publications}

RP3038: Journal Article: Challenges in transitioning to low carbon living for lower income households in Australia

In the move towards low carbon living, the challenges faced by lower income groups are often overlooked. Recent rises in electricity costs disproportionate to income make this a more critical issue. Based on findings from focus group discussions with 164 lower income households and 18 stakeholders across 4 different climate zones in Australia, this paper reveals the barriers that lower income households face in improving their residential energy efficiency and in achieving low carbon living.

While limited financial capacity is generally understood as a significant barrier preventing lower income households from taking up technologies to achieve greater energy efficiency and transition to low carbon living, the authors' findings show that a mix of financial and non-financial barriers exist. These include their ability to afford energy efficient household products, control over thermal comfort and energy efficiency levels of their homes, and lack of access to reliable information. These barriers are revealed to have significant impacts on the household finances, health, and social well-being of these lower income households.

The concluding discussion puts forward policy suggestions on how some current assistance and incentive programmes encouraging low carbon living could be adjusted to ensure more equitable access, encourage uptake, and improve low carbon outcomes.

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RP3038: Journal Article: Regional variations in the experiences of energy poverty across Australia

Academic interests into energy poverty have been growing since the 1990s. These have ranged from quantitative measures and qualitative reflections, as well as ones that aimed to provide more nuanced definitions. These studies have, however, typically focused on single jurisdictions or across national borders, with very few examining the issue across different climatic and policy contexts within the same nation.

This paper aims to address this gap by focussing on differences in climate conditions, local policies and quality of the housing stock across Australia and reflects on how these factors each played a role, to varying degrees, in the prevalence of energy poverty amongst lower-income households across eight metropolitan and regional settings conducted as part of a recent study in Australia. Through a review of focus group, interview and workshop data, it especially highlights the more qualitative impacts of energy poverty, and how each of these factors come to influence the extent to which lower-income households experience energy poverty and the support they were able to access. Additional to the need for more contextualised measures of energy poverty, this paper calls for localised responses to alleviate the negative outcomes reflected by our participants in regard to both energy and housing policies.

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RP3038 Conference paper: Carbon reduction programs and lower income households in Australian cities

Presented at the International High- Performance Built Environment Conference – A Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2016 Series (SBE16), iHBE 2016 Abstract .

This paper presents preliminary findings of a recent research project on the barriers that lower-income households in four Australian cities – Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, and Darwin – face in reducing their carbon consumption, and the impact of programs implemented by federal and state governments and support organisations to assist such reductions.

Following a brief explanation of the methodology (policy reviews, focus group discussions with lower-income households, and interviews with support service providers and advocacy groups), it outlines issues that underlie the complexity of carbon reduction among lower income households. These include housing quality and tenure; health conditions; and user understanding and perspectives on low carbon living and environmental decision-making. This is followed by a review of the types of carbon reduction programs currently available to households living in different Australian jurisdictions.

The paper will then reflect on focus group participants’ views of their access to these programs, their perceived effectiveness in achieving genuine carbon reduction, and how these programs fit in (or not) to the less formal carbon reduction techniques already employed by lower income households. It also highlights the challenges and limitations support service providers and advocacy groups face in connecting lower-income households to carbon reduction programs. It concludes with a discussion of potential policy avenues to address the barriers to low carbon living and ensure the intended outcomes of these carbon reduction programs are met in the longer term for those on lower incomes. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee iHBE 2016.

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RP3038: Conference paper: Tenure as barrier to low carbon living

In the global push to lowering our carbon emissions by transitioning to renewable energy production and improving energy efficiency epitomised in the Paris Agreement in 2015, the importance of housing tenure to the adoption of low carbon living, particularly for those on lower incomes, is often not fully appreciated. Lower-income households are more likely to be renters on social benefits, and have limited ability to afford either the normally higher priced energy efficient appliances or access renewables due to the problem of split incentives. In an environment of escalating energy costs, this can lead to energy deprivation, compromising social, physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Through a mixed-method approach involving focus group discussions with lower-income households, interviews with stakeholders, and workshops with policymakers and support services, this paper focuses on recent findings from an Australia-based research project on the barriers that lower-income households faced in transitioning to low carbon living. It especially highlights the challenges – financially, mentally, and most of all structurally – private and social renters face in living out their support for a low carbon future. While the adverse outcomes of energy deprivation are similar to those experienced in other countries, tenure was noted as a significant contributor to these challenges and presented a number of barriers to the implementation of efficiency upgrades and other low carbon measures.

This paper reports on tenure’s role in lower-income households’ experiences of energy deprivation and provides policy potentials in overcoming them.

doi.org/10.4225/50/5b2ddcc27590e

Tenure as barrier to low carbon living (56519 DOCX)

_{CRCLCL Project Reports}

RP3038 Research Report: Lower Income Barriers to Low Carbon Living - Summary of Focus Group and Survey Findings

The research reported in this summary of findings identifies the financial and non-financial barriers that prevent lower income households from reducing their carbon consumption. 

It focuses on four vulnerable groups – single-parent families, large families of five residents or more, young single persons, and older households aged 65 or older – who may be more susceptible to changes in energy costs, and hence their ability to implement adaptive behaviours in reducing carbon consumption.

In addition to identifying the financial and non-financial barriers lower income households face in reducing their carbon consumption, we explore the role of the non-profit sector in assisting lower income households who face energy hardship and/or are prevented from reducing their carbon consumption due to various barriers. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of assistance programs currently available, and provide suggestions for adjusting these programs where necessary in order to improve their access and outcomes.

RP3038 Research Report: Lower Income Barriers to Low Carbon Living - Summary of Focus Group and Survey Findings (980407 PDF)

RP3038 Final Project Report: Lower Income Barriers to Low Carbon Living - Policy Pathways to Addressing Barriers

This is the second and final report for the CRCLCL's research project RP3038, Lower income barriers to low carbon living.

The first report, Summary of focus group and survey findings (Liu & Judd 2016), detailed the findings from our focus group discussions with lower income households across four Australian jurisdictions. This final report focuses on the suggestions put forward by these lower income households during the focus group discussions and the stakeholders during their interviews on how assistance programs relating specifically to low carbon living may be improved. These suggestions were collated, categorised and discussed with policymakers and service providers in four policy workshops in August 2016, the outcomes of which are detailed in this final report.

RP3038 Final Project Report: Lower income barriers to low carbon living - policy pathways to addressing barriers (962077 PDF)

_{Fact sheet}

RP3038: Policy Guide Note: Addressing Australia's Worsening Energy Deprivation

This policy guide note synthesises the findings of the final report for RP3038: Lower Income Barriers to Low Carbon Living. In summary:

• Broad engagement with lower income households, industry, government and other stakeholders reveals that energy deprivation is an increasing problem in Australia which impacts upon the social wellbeing of communities.
• There are a wide range of financial and non-financial barriers limiting the ability of lower income households to address energy deprivation.
• The government’s approach to energy and support mechanisms varies from state to state and nationally, further exacerbating the problem.
• We present a range of policy recommendations across three categories, namely information provision, financial assistance, and regulatory controls.

RP3038: Policy Guide Note: Addressing Australia's Worsening Energy Deprivation (1152619 PDF)