The impact of social and green territorial factors on energy poverty: a Capability Approach analysis for Italy

This paper investigates the impact of territorial social and green conversion factors on energy poverty through an empirical analysis of the Italian case based on the Capability Approach. Individual well-being and energy poverty constitute multidimensional phenomena that extend beyond objective elements, rendering conventional unidimensional expenditure indices potentially inaccurate. Well-being is a set of capabilities, and the conversion process depends not only on personal factors but also on social and environmental factors. Local context plays a significant role, and territorial conversion factors can be the driver of local cultural, social, and institutional dynamics. Given the interesting regional diversities, this paper evaluates the impact of the territorial social and green conversion factors on energy poverty in the Italian macro-regions by implementing a logistic regression on the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index, built from panel data related to the period 2004-2018 extracted from the EU_SILC and the Spatial indicators database for development policies of the Italian Statistical Institute. Significant regional disparities in the diffusion of multidimensional energy poverty emerge with a surprisingly increasing trend in the northeast and slightly down in the southern regions. Findings also underscore the significant influence of social conversion factors, such as volunteering, internet access, and crime perception, as well as green territorial ones, such as pro-environmental attitudes, on energy vulnerability. So, this study advocates for an integrated and multilevel political approach that integrates social cohesion, digitalisation, and renewable energy initiatives to address structural causes of energy poverty while advancing social inclusion and environmental sustainability.