Challenges in regional approaches: Lessons from Energy Poverty research in a small scale European member state

Abstract

Energy poverty is an issue now widely recognised for its detrimental impacts and research in Europe has intensified over the last decade. Many different methodologies of examining the topic have surfaced, with a common one being based on regional-based practices. Open source data are extremely useful for such approaches, because they offer unlimited access to information. The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a framework for data collection on different geographic levels that provides different levels of statistical analysis for regions within a single country. It was set up in the 1970’s by the European Union, and existing research work has already explored the valuable application of the NUTS system in certain areas. Nevertheless, the constraints of open source data (such as data based on NUTS regions), in reference to small scale member states, have not been exhaustively addressed.In this study the shortcomings of open source data are explored, by examining energy poverty in an area where the efficacy of the NUTS system is restricted. Cyprus is a member state in the European Union and is represented by a single NUTS category, for all levels of classification, unlike the majority of the rest. Data therefore exists only at the national level - something which contradicts the purpose of the different NUTS levels. In effect, for the case of Cyprus, this results in lack of differentiation among distinct climatic regions and disregarding the urban-rural dichotomy. It essentially renders this classification system inapt for Cyprus, while research activities become limited to the extent of data obtained through other means. Therefore, the study highlights the challenges researchers have to face when approaching a topic for Cyprus from a regional lens. To this end, geographical information systems software is used to observe a simplistic composite indicator of energy poverty in a medium-scale country (where NUTS is applicable), in relation to Cyprus. The effectiveness and potential impact of the outcomes in relation to public awareness, decision-making for policy makers and initiatives of local agents are examined and discussed.Ultimately, the study highlights that even when high quality indicators of energy poverty exist at the European Union level (Eurostat), under current circumstances they cannot be employed effectively to examine energy poverty regionally within Cyprus. Recommendations are proposed to overcome data access limitations in areas where popular open access databases are inadequate.