Table 2.

Theme 2 Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) priority questions.

Question no.	Agreed SSH priority question
15	What are the major barriers and enablers of installing energy efficiency measures among different socio-demographic and socio-economic groups; and what are the implications for designing policies that ensure energy efficiency is accessible to all?
16	To what extent can intersectional insights—regarding a person’s social identities (e.g., gender, race, class, sexuality, religion, disability, etc.)—inform the design of energy efficiency solutions, and assist in devising strategies that address their unintended consequences?
17	What are the links between energy efficiency and energy justice at regional, national and global scales; and how can distributional impacts of energy efficiency policies be meaningfully evaluated and fairly managed across societies?
18	To what extent do existing energy efficiency policies, tools and initiatives employ a social justice approach; what would be the implications of embedding a social justice approach throughout policymaking on energy efficiency; and how can this best be achieved?
19	How does a fair distribution of energy efficiency costs and benefits feature in societies’ idea of acceptability; including, what exactly does ‘fair’ mean to different stakeholders?
20	What role can be played by niche or innovative technologies, and by niche innovation management, as mechanisms to secure wider distribution of power, democratic engagement and more just transition management?
21	How do energy efficiency improvements affect inequalities (including across, e.g., socio-economic groups and genders); and how can policies be designed to achieve both energy efficiency and equity goals?
22	How can energy efficiency be increased without increasing energy inequality; in particular, how can the allocation of EU funds take account of the different forms of energy services deprivation that exist across, and within, European countries?
23	What roles do material culture and interactions with technologies play in shaping the distributional inequalities experienced through different energy efficiency initiatives?
24	How do energy efficiency policies affect vulnerable groups with higher energy consumption needs (e.g., elderly, disabled); and how can policies ensure that such ‘energy vulnerable’ citizens benefit from energy efficiency solutions?
25	What kinds of institutional innovations are needed to ensure that energy efficiency policies serve to redress, not exacerbate, energy vulnerabilities; and what lessons can be learned from existing good practice in this area?
26	How significant is energy efficiency in alleviating existing energy poverty across different countries; and how can affordable energy efficiency programmes be supported, as part of delivering fairer energy futures?
27	To what extent do (i) current levels of poverty, including energy poverty, (ii) structure and quality of jobs, and (iii) inequalities within different countries, impact on the capacity for and actual delivery of energy efficiency improvements; and how do these vary across different countries?
28	How can energy efficiency be effectively embedded in future policies targeting energy poverty, and poverty alleviation more generally; and how can such policies be informed by more holistic, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approaches?
29	What are the short-, medium- and long-term effects of domestic energy efficiency improvements on the mental and physical health of people living in energy poverty?
30	How might ‘efficiency’ as a conceptual approach exacerbate vulnerabilities; and how can a sufficiency approach support just energy transitions?