As renewable energy mandates are rising 'ecological' taxes have driven up electricity prices, and increases in energy poverty has become a problem in countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom. There are varying definitions for the term, but the newly launched European Union Energy Poverty Observatory defines energy poverty as not being able to afford adequate warmth, cooling, lighting, or the energy to power appliances that guarantee a decent standard of living and health. One shorthand rule is that a household is energy poor if it must spend more than 10 percent of its income on power. The Observatory estimates that 50 million European households now qualify. ¹

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