Energy crisis exacerbated Russian war in Ukrainethreatens to lead to the abyss poverty 141 million people worldwide. This is the conclusion of a group of researchers from the Netherlands, the UK, the US and China, who studied the impact of the accuracy of energy consumption on household finances in 116 countries.

According to a study published in the scientific journal Natural Energy and reproduced by CNN, a spike in energy, coal and natural gas prices has forced households around the world to increase their spending by 4.8%. This increase has been added to the precision already brought about by the pandemic, making it difficult for households to survive. Particularly in low-income countries, the report notes that the poorest households already face significant food insecurity and are much more at risk of falling into extreme poverty due to energy costs. As you might expect, households in richer countries have also been hit hard by rising energy prices, but they tend to cope better and can cover the extra costs much more easily by including them in the household budget. As the research team points out, some countries are very vulnerable to the energy crisis, as the rise in energy costs has been clearly above average in Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic, as these countries’ economies are much more dependent on energy-intensive industries. . Poland, for example, uses 68.5% of coal for energy production.

As the report highlights, rising energy prices push the most vulnerable households further into poverty, especially during the winter months. Households that cannot cope with the cost of energy cannot have the services necessary for a decent standard of living, such as access to heating, air conditioning, lighting, and the use of electrical appliances. The researchers even cite the International Energy Agency’s recent estimate that the number of people living without electricity around the world is alarmingly rising, and its forecast that the number will increase by 2.7% this year from 2021 levels.

Last but not least, the more general accuracy caused by the energy crisis and, in particular, staple foods, plays a no less decisive role in the deterioration of the situation of households around the world. In the US, for example, in January, eggs were 70.1% more expensive compared to the same period last year, margarine by 44.7%, butter by 26.3%, flour by 20.4%, bread by 14.9%. %, sugar by 13.5%, milk by 11%. chicken by 10.5%, while the overall prices of fruits and vegetables rose by 7.2%.

After all, referring to the poverty line set by the World Bank at $2.15 a day, the authors of the report come to an estimate that 141 million people are at risk of extreme poverty, i.e. about 2.1% of the world’s population. As they note, their estimate is clearly worse than that of the World Bank, which spoke of the risk of extreme poverty, which in the worst case threatens from 75 to 95 million people. They emphasize that the reason is that they have found that energy accuracy affects different social classes and different income strata and has a greater impact on the already poor.

As the researchers and authors of this report note, many governments around the world have already taken steps to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis on households, sometimes by lowering energy taxes, sometimes by providing discounts on electricity bills or one-off subsidies, and sometimes by imposing price caps. However, they are calling on the authorities to do much more, such as introducing price subsidies, taxing the excess profits of energy companies, and passing legislation mandating the use of renewable energy sources in the food supply chain.

Notably, the researchers’ remarks coincided with Nestlé’s announcement, which echoed the warning from consumer goods giants such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble that prices for key commodities will rise further this year. Mark Schneider, CEO of the Swiss company, stressed that “like all consumers around the world, we have suffered from inflation and are trying to repair the damage we have suffered.” However, he declined to specify which of the company’s 2,000 products would become more expensive.