Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- The poverty organisations united within the Belgian Poverty Reduction Network (BAPN) are asking the federal and regional governments in our country to set up an “energy-housing” taskforce in order to arrive at a structural policy for tackling the energy crisis. They fear that the current measures taken by the governments are not enough to avoid a social massacre.
According to a report by BRUZZ. Even before the corona crisis, one in five people in Belgium lived in energy poverty. The current energy crisis, which comes on top of the increase in lifespans and in the aftermath of the corona crisis and last year’s floods, is making energy bills unaffordable not only for people living in poverty, but also for the lower middle class, it says. in a press release.
Tackling the crisis therefore requires a “coherent and ambitious policy” that consists of support measures to protect a large group in our society against (even deeper) poverty and impoverishment, and a sustainable approach to achieve the necessary social, green transition in our society, according to BAPN. This also requires coordination and alignment between different policy domains and different policy levels, which is why the organisations are requesting the creation of a task force.
Its creation “would send a strong signal to the population that governments in our country are serious about providing structural solutions to the energy crisis from the outset”, according to the poverty networks, which are ready to support the task force constructively.
Five priorities
The networks also define recommendations around five priorities. For example, they demand better protection for people living in poverty, for example through a temporary freeze of the social energy rate and the structural anchoring of that rate. Secondly, the organisations are asking for more targeted and greater support for the lower middle class to be able to bridge at least the whole winter and for the necessary financial support for the socio-cultural and educational sector.
There must also be a housing-energy pact in order to achieve a fair and rapid green transition. For example, massive investments must be made in insulating buildings and vulnerable families must also be given the opportunity to use renewable energy sources.
A fourth priority is to strengthen the purchasing power of people in poverty and the lower middle class, for example by not touching the automatic indexation of wages and benefits. Raising the lowest incomes above the poverty line must also be an absolute priority. Finally, the organisations demand coordination with European policy, for example by investing European funds in measures to avert the energy crisis.
