Climate Change and Energy Insecurity: A Growing Need for Policy Intervention

Energy insecurity, or a household's inability to afford its basic energy needs, is an under-Appreciated material hardship that millions of low-income U.S. households face every month. When households experience energy insecurity, they are more likely to take financial risks, engage in unsafe coping strategies, as well as suffer adverse mental and physical impacts as they try to pay their energy bills and avoid utility disconnection. In this commentary, we share new survey data that identify the energy insecure population in the United States, revealing that Black and Hispanic households are more likely to experience this material hardship than white households. We argue that climate change will likely deepen this problem due to ongoing and projected increases in average and extreme temperatures, which will expose those that cannot afford to maintain comfortable temperatures inside their homes to extreme heat. This exposure may lead to severe health consequences, including heat exhaustion and death from heatstroke. We maintain that current policies and programs are insufficient to mitigate climate-induced energy insecurity and conclude by offering several policy recommendations that state and federal policymakers should consider as the effects of climate change mount and adversely affect energy insecure communities.