Understanding the multiple harms of energy poverty through the Nussbaum’s theory of central capabilities

It is widely recognised that energy poverty can have serious and detrimental impacts upon multiple aspects of people’s well-being and life quality. This paper seeks to provide a multi-dimensional and theoretically-attuned account of the relations between energy poverty and well-being, through the use of the Capabilities Approach and specifically Nussbaum’s normative theory of Central Capabilities. Drawing on interviews with 109 households in 4 European countries, we demonstrate how 6 of the 10 Central Capabilities – namely Bodily Health, Emotions, Affiliation, Play, Practical Reason and Senses, Imagination & Thought – can be directly harmed by energy poverty. Our findings strengthen claims that energy poverty should be considered a serious form of (energy) injustice. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of our work for energy poverty research and policy, and the opportunities opened up by adopting the Capabilities Approach.Data collection in Budapest, Gdansk and Skopje received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme [grant number FP7/2007–2013]/ERC grant agreement number 313478. We also acknowledge the COST Action “European Energy Poverty: Agenda Co- Creation and Knowledge Innovation” [ENGAGER 2017–2021, CA16232] supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology – www.cost.eu). This was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades