(Finance) – Two million euros by 2024. This is the goal of Energy bankthe non-profit organization born with the desire to support families who find themselves in a situation of economic and social vulnerability with a focus on energy poverty. An important development plan which was discussed today in Rome, where the board of the signatories of the Manifesto to take stock of what has been done from December – when Banco Energia took a national perspective – to today, but above all to present the three-year plan which, from 2022 and until 2024, will see an increase in the economic resources deployed: the goal of the new fundraising program – explains Banco Energia in a note – is reach € 2 million by 2024. In the three years to come, according to the Banco Energia plan, it will be activated over 30 projects throughout the national territory thanks to the support of organizations or companies that will support and support the projects of the Energy Bank.
The new signatories – During the plenary they officially signed the Manifesto against energy poverty Edison, Terna, WIT, Fiera Milano Foundation, Francesca Rava Foundation, Banco Alimentare And Ircaf – Research Institute, Consumption, Environment and Training.
The numbers of energy poverty – The dramatic picture regarding energy poverty is also the consequence of an even more serious geopolitical instability. According to one estimate of the Utilitatis Foundationmoreover, the constant increase in the price of energy would lead to a 5.34% increase in families in energy poverty (about 300 thousand more) reaching 13.34% in the first quarter of 2022, the highest value ever seen since the measurement of energy poverty began. From a recent research that Ipsos conducted for the Energy Bank it also appears that only 1 out of 4 Italians know what energy poverty is, but once the concept has been explained, 53% of them think that the problem is a priority and that Italy is interested in it in an important way.
The projects – Worrying numbers for which Banco Energia already has many projects under its belt, while others are about to start and have been
presented just today. This is the case with the initiative “Energy in the suburbs”, in collaboration with Acea And Federconsumatori Lazio, promoted in support of families in situations of hardship due to energy poverty who live in the Torpignattara district, through an economic contribution that will cover the costs of one year of utilities per family, together with energy saving education courses. The initiative also plans to donate, to each household, a kit of Philips Signify light bulbs to act directly on consumption, reducing it, and, at the same time, educating on energy saving thanks to the switch to LED.
“Never as in this historical moment – declared theCEO of Acea Giuseppe Gola – there is a need to give a concrete signal to combat the phenomenon of energy poverty. It is necessary to help families in difficulty who are unable to pay their electricity and gas bills due to the increase in prices due to the complex economic situation. This is why we have joined the ‘Energy in the suburbs’ project which we are very pleased to start right from the outskirts of Rome, a city to which Acea is particularly linked. I hope that this initiative can become a virtuous example and be replicated in other Italian realities “.
And again, the collaboration with the new signatory Edison to promote a territorial project to support families in conditions of economic and social vulnerability in Calabria. “Energy poverty is a phenomenon that most affects those who live in the South of the country – he declares Nicola Monti, Edison CEO -. For this reason, with our adhesion to the Together Manifesto to fight energy poverty, we wanted to dedicate a specific project to the Calabria Region. Our contribution to families and vulnerable individuals – continues Monti – will be substantiated through economic support for the payment of bills and a real support of the TED Tutors for Home Energy to promote greater awareness of the energy consumption of these families ” .
“The goal we have set ourselves as an Energy Bank is ambitious but achievable – he said Marco Patuano, president of A2A and of the non-profit organization -. Especially if, as is happening, many important entities and companies decide to create a system and become part of the Banco. We are consolidating quickly and this is testimony to the fact that we have intercepted a need that existed for some time but was latent. Now we must all work together to help reduce energy poverty. “
“For the particular bond they have always maintained with the territories in which they operate – he explained Michaela Castelli, president of Utilitalia – utilities have been involved for some time in combating energy poverty. The Energy Bank represents a further, important piece of this path, and testifies to the importance of networking to implement system actions. All the realities involved in this project, in fact, have the same objectives: to meet the needs of the families most in difficulty, facilitating their access to energy “.
“I thank Banco dell’Energia Onlus, which with its initiative contributes to tackling with seriousness and concreteness an issue that touches the everyday life of families – explained the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Elena Bonetti -. Energy poverty in the context of ongoing climate change is one of the issues that most demand vision and planning skills today. Gaps and inequalities affect situations of greatest fragility and, especially for childhood and adolescence, conditions of energy poverty are increasingly the cause of educational poverty and social exclusion. The energy challenge is a great equal opportunity challenge to achieve a sustainable and inclusive change of system, which makes us all grow. As we highlighted in the last Commission on the status of women, recently concluded at the United Nations and dedicated to climate change, women have a decisive role as agents of change and development levers in the processes of ecological transition. These are all issues on which the government is primarily committed and which require, as demonstrated by the work that Banco dell’Energia is carrying out, the active contribution of all the players in the field “.
The Signatories of the Manifesto “Together to combat energy poverty” – A2A, Acea, Pugliese Aqueduct, Adiconsum, Adoc – Consumer Orientation Defense Association, Aisfor, Food Bank, Energy Bank, Valdostana Community of Waters, Italian Red Cross, Edison, Enea – National Agency for New Technologies, Federconsumatori, Fiera Foundation Milan, Francesca Rava Foundation, Fratello Sole, Hera, Ircaf – Institute for Research on Consumption, Environment and Training, Iren, Lega Consumatori, Legambiente, Leroy Merlin, Metropolitana Milanese, Next Energy Foundation, Oipe, Italian Observatory on Energy Poverty, (Re) Generiamo, RSE – Energy System Research, Sant’Egidio, Signify, Terna, Utilitalia, Utilitatis, WIT.