Keywords
household behaviour
European Union
Russian invasion of Ukraine
energy security
principal component analysis
cluster analysis
How to Cite
Abstract
This article examines the immediate energy-saving strategies declared by EU households in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which exposed the Union’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels. Drawing on data from Flash Eurobarometer 506 (April 2022), the study applies principal component analysis and k-means clustering to identify coherent behavioural patterns. Three segments are distinguished: engaged (broad action takers), selective (focused on low-cost behavioural changes), and unwilling (low or no declared engagement). While most respondents expressed a willingness to act, only a minority reported strategies that spanned both behavioural and investment domains. Cross-country variation was more pronounced than socio-demographic differences, highlighting the role of national context, geopolitical awareness, and perceived urgency. The findings contribute to the understanding of household behaviour under acute external shocks and demonstrate the value of strategy-based segmentation. Policy implications include designing targeted interventions aligned with behavioural patterns, rather than relying solely on socio-demographic profiling.
References
Abdi, H., & Williams, L. J. (2010). Principal component analysis. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Computational Statistics, 2(4), 433-459. https://doi.org/10.1002/wics.101
Allcott, H., & Greenstone, M. (2012). Is there an energy efficiency gap? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(1), 3-28. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.26.1.3
Ameli, N., & Brandt, N. (2015). Determinants of households’ investment in energy efficiency and renewables. Environmental Research Letters, 10(4), 044015. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044015
Attari, S. Z., DeKay, M. L., Davidson, C. I., & Bruine de Bruin, W. (2010). Public perceptions of energy consumption and savings. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(37), 16054-16059. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1001509107
Baldini, M., Trivella, A., & Wente, J. W. (2018). The impact of socioeconomic and behavioural factors for purchasing energy efficient household appliances. Energy Policy, 120, 503-513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.05.048
Blumberga, A., Pakere, I., Bohvalovs, Ģ., Brakovska, V., Vanaga, R., Spurins, U., Klaksons, G., Celmins, V., & Blumberga, D. (2024). Impact of the 2022 energy crisis on energy transition awareness in Latvia. Energy, 306, 132370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2024.132370
Boza-Kiss, B., Moles-Grueso, S., & Urge-Vorsatz, D. (2013). Evaluating policy instruments to foster energy efficiency for the sustainable transformation of buildings. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 5(2), 163-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2013.04.002
Broberg, T., & Kazukauskas, A. (2015). Inefficiencies in residential use of energy—a critical overview of literature and energy efficiency policies in the EU. International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, 8(2), 225-279. https://doi.org/10.1561/101.00000070
Caliński, T., & Harabasz, J. (1974). A dendrite method for cluster analysis. Communications in Statistics - Theory and Methods, 3(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/03610927408827101
Davis, L. W. (2012). Evaluating the slow adoption of energy efficient investments: are renters less likely to have energy efficient appliances? NBER Working Paper, 16114. https://doi.org/10.3386/w16114
Dertwinkel-Kalt, M., Feldhaus, C., Ockenfels, A., & Sutter, M. (2024). Household reduction of gas consumption in the energy crisis is not explained by individual economic incentives. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(48), e2411740121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2411740121
Ek, K., & Söderholm, P. (2010). The devil is in the details: Household electricity saving behavior and the role of information. Energy Policy, 38(3), 1578-1587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.11.041
Energy Poverty Advisory Hub. (2021). Tackling energy poverty through local actions – Inspiring cases from across Europe. https://build-up.ec.europa.eu/en/resources-and-tools/publications/epah-report-tackling-energy-poverty-through-local-actions
Europa.eu. (n.d.). About Eurobarometer. https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/about/eurobarometer.
European Commission. (2020). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. A Renovation Wave for Europe – greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives, COM/2020/662 final.
European Commission. (2021). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Tackling rising energy prices: a toolbox for action and support, COM/2021/660 final.
European Commission. (2022). Flash Eurobarometer 506: EU’s response to the war in Ukraine [Data set]. GESIS Data Archive https://doi.org/10.4232/1.13919
European Commission. (2022a). In focus: Reducing the EU’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/focus-reducing-eus-dependence-imported-fossil-fuels-2022-apr-20_en
European Commission. (2022b). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. REPowerEU: Joint European Action for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022DC0230
European Commission. (2022c). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. REPowerEU Plan, Pub. L. No. 52022DC0230. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52022DC0230
European Commission. (2022d). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Save gas for a safe winter, COM/2022/360 final. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:55edf05c-08d0-11ed-b11c-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
European Commission. (2022e). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Save Energy, COM/2022/240 final.https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52022DC0240
Frings, N. L., Nielsen, K. S., Rahmani Azad, Z., & Hahnel, U. J. J. (2025). Climate impact perceptions and associations with reported behaviors and policy support in three countries. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 108. 102841, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102841
Gadenne, D., Sharma, B., Kerr, D., & Smith, T. (2011). The influence of consumers' environmental beliefs and attitudes on energy saving behaviours. Energy Policy, 39(12), 7684-7694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.09.002
Gillingham, K. T., & Palmer, K. L. (2013). Bridging the energy efficiency gap: Insights for policy from economic theory and empirical analysis. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/ret021
Hartigan, J. A., & Wong, M. A. (1979). Algorithm AS 136: A k-means clustering algorithm. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series C (Applied Statistics), 28(1), 100-108. https://doi.org/10.2307/2346830
International Energy Agency. (2022). A 10-Point Plan to Reduce the European Union’s Reliance on Russian Natural Gas. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/1af70a5f-9059-47b4-a2dd-1b479918f3cb/A10-PointPlantoReducetheEuropeanUnionsRelianceonRussianNaturalGas.pdf
Karlin, B., Davis, N., Sanguinetti, A., Gamble, K., Kirkby, D., & Stokols, D. (2014). Dimensions of conservation: Exploring differences among energy behaviors. Environment and Behavior, 46(4), 423-452. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916512467532
Krishnamurthy, C. K. B., & Kriström, B. (2015). How large is the owner-renter divide in energy efficient technology? Evidence from an OECD cross-section. The Energy Journal, 36(4), 85-104. https://doi.org/10.5547/01956574.36.4.ckri
Linares, P., & Labandeira, X. (2010). Energy efficiency: economics and policy. Journal of Economic Surveys, 24(3), 573-592. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2009.00609.x
Makles, A. (2012). Stata tip 110: How to get the optimal k-means cluster solution. The Stata Journal, 12(2), 347-351. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X1201200215
Martinsson, J., Lundqvist, L. J., & Sundström, A. (2011). Energy saving in Swedish households. The (relative) importance of environmental attitudes. Energy Policy, 39(9), 5182-5191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.05.046
Ruhnau, O., Stieve, C., Muessel, J., & Hirth, L. (2023). Natural gas savings in Germany during the 2022 energy crisis. Nature Energy, (8), 621-628. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-023-01260-5
Schleich, J. (2019). Energy efficient technology adoption in low-income households in the European Union–What is the evidence? Energy Policy, 125, 196-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.10.061
Tóth, G., Jáger, V., Kovalszky, Z., Bóday, P., Ádám, D., Kincses, Á., & Szép, T. (2024). Characteristics of household energy consumption in the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine war – a case study from Hungary. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, 40, 55-74. https://doi.org/10.54337/ijsepm.8014
Trotta, G. (2018). Factors affecting energy-saving behaviours and energy efficiency investments in British households. Energy Policy, 114, 529-539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.12.042
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Economics and Environment