» The Nature of Rural Europe
Over 50% of European citizens live in rural areas. They occupy over 90% of Europe's territory and contribute 43% of Europe's gross value. And yet, despite their importance, rural communities are rarely considered by politicians and regulators when writing energy policy.
- Up to 5 million rural French dwellers cannot afford the cost of heating and lighting, often due to low energy efficiency.
- People living in rural and remote areas in Denmark often do not benefit from the national district heating network or natural gas network which covers 75% of the country.
- 15% of the German population lives in rural communities. But they produce 57% of German GDP.
- Farming accounts for only 25% of the rural workforce in Ireland.
- 74% of rural Italians use polluting heating oil to heat their homes.
- Poland has 4.4 million rural households, with migration to the country now outweighing migration from the country.
- 70% of the UK’s rural population believes that their government cares more about urban areas than about the countryside.
» Rural communities in Europe are important
A large proportion of Europe’s population lives in rural communities. They provide a significant proportion of employment and a major contribution to the economy. The welfare of rural communities is a central government priority, particularly the creation of new jobs, new rural industry and the continued reverse of the trend towards urbanisation. Farmers and agriculture in general also remain extremely important culturally, politically and economically. European rural communities are too important to be ignored on energy (and any other) issue.
People living in the more remote parts of Europe rarely have access to the natural gas grid and the electricity supply can be unreliable and hugely inefficient. As a consequence they often have to rely on relatively high carbon solid and liquid fuels which are being used with aging technologies.
The initiative was launched in Europe by SHV Gas and is designed to stimulate the debate within the political and NGO communities to ensure the unique energy needs of the European rural population are considered when relevant policy is considered and legislation is proposed.
European energy has to become more efficient, secure and less-carbon consuming in the decades to come to ensure a sustainable future. To achieve a truly balanced cleaner European energy mix, the specific needs and social circumstances of rural communities can no longer be overlooked.
More than half of the European Union's population live in rural areas which cover 90 per cent of its territory. Of these there are at least 30 million homes and businesses which will probably never have access to the natural gas grid and instead largely rely on high carbon energy sources.
Technologies that have the potential to help these areas meet the EU’s climate goals are available today. Industry and government have a role to both increase awareness and encourage more widespread uptake of these high efficient, lower carbon rural energy solutions. By making more informed lower carbon energy choices, the potential for carbon and financial savings can be huge. As such, the needs of rural areas have to be at the heart of European and national energy policy.
The FREE initiative aims to put the needs, solutions and practical policy proposals to deliver a cleaner, competitive and secure energy for rural communities and businesses on the political agenda. Europe needs clean and realistic energy solutions for rural areas now. Very low carbon solutions that include gas and renewable energies are available and fit the needs of rural communities and benefit the environment.
Visit www.rural-energy.eu to find out more about the European FREE initiative .
» Rural communities are disadvantaged when it comes to energy choice and energy policy
Rural communities are at best ignored and at worst exploited, treated as either food factories or power stations. Rural communities have different energy needs and have a reduced and more costly choice than their urban equivalents. Rural individuals have a larger carbon footprint than urbanites and need greater access to cleaner energy choices. Energy legislation expects rural communities to do the heavy lifting as we move to cleaner, more efficient energy without considering their own needs for cleaner energy, better air quality, and greater, less expensive choice.
» The Future of Rural Energy in Europe (FREE)
The FREE initiative aims to raise the awareness of the responsible energy options available to rural homes and businesses that do not have access to the same energy infrastructure, solutions and support as urban areas.
