The growing cost of staying cool
Rising energy prices are adding further pressure to households experiencing extreme heat.
As energy costs are driven by demand rather than affordability, some households may avoid using air conditioning or delay investing in insulation and other improvements.
The combination of everyday expenses, rising energy costs and more frequent heatwaves can leave people with difficult choices.
Migrant families, women, children and people living in rental properties are among those more likely to be affected.
Heat exposure is also closely connected to housing conditions and the power relationships between landlords and renters, particularly in social housing.
“Data shows that if you’re poorer, you are in a more heat-exposed built environment,” said Porter, a researcher in urbanisation and the ways it can create dispossession and displacement.
From solutions to action
During the roundtable, panellists agreed that engineering solutions to improve the energy efficiency and thermal performance of existing buildings already exist.
The challenge is to implement them at the required scale.
Isabel Tejero Fernandez, Director of Energy Consulting at EFFIC, said that plenty of solutions are available.
“We know what to do; the point is how to put all those solutions in place,” she said.
Large-scale renovation will require significant investment, stronger regulation and financial incentives.
It will also require a skilled workforce of technicians, engineers, architects and construction professionals.
At the moment, the sector is not prepared for the scale of work required.
Sophie Chick, Vice President of the Urban Land Institute, emphasised the importance of collaboration between government, industry, communities and residents.
“We have a really, really complicated housing system," she said.
"It’s fragmented, it’s stuck, and we can’t meet those affordability and climate change challenges effectively."
As extreme heat becomes an increasing public health risk, it may also become an agent of change, creating greater urgency for systemic action and helping deliver housing that is both affordable and climate resilient.
Story: Thirza Bakker
