Enough pain, cold, and illness! Social movements in response to energy poverty in Europe

Energy affordability challenges are increasingly generating collective dissatisfaction in Europe, but also collective solutions. We study the experiences of three social movements of relevance to energy poverty across Europe (in North Macedonia, Poland, and Spain) that have pushed for or proposed legislation acts in parliaments to promote new governance models prioritizing the needs of energy-poor households. These movements reflect the demands for political representation of energy-vulnerable groups in each country, advocating for policies addressing structural inequalities and highlighting the universal right to essential services. In contrast to the neoliberal energy agenda which favors market-based approaches to tackle energy poverty, social movements demonstrate that those affected by energy poverty and marginalized within the dominant energy paradigm can effectively expose injustices and underlying political economy mechanisms contributing to this issue. In the current EU context where neoliberal policies are suggested for a more inclusive energy transition within the existing energy market framework, we argue that collective but constructive discontent manifested by social movements may offer a more effective pathway towards achieving a just energy transition.