Households in Central Asia continue to be the hardest hit by rising energy prices, followed by South and Southeast Asia.
RT English – The global energy crisis, triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has driven upward the price of energy for “heating, cooling and household mobility” as well as the costs of other goods and services globally, which could push some 141 million people worldwide into extreme poverty, according to a study published Thursday in Nature Energy.
Researchers modelled the direct and indirect impacts of higher energy prices on 201 expenditure groups in 116 countries. The nine different scenarios proposed by the authors show that people would have to spend between 62.6 % and 112.9 % more on energy, pushing up total household costs by between 2.7 % and 4.8 %.
The analysts stress that the energy price charges in different groups of households and in different countries vary due to differences in supply chain structure, consumption patterns and energy needs. Estimates suggest that between 78 and 141 million people globally could be condemned to extreme poverty.
In terms of increased energy costs, both direct and indirect, households in Central Asia continue to be the most affected (80.7%), with the largest increase in Tajikistan, followed by South and Southeast Asia (74.5%). For example, Laotians’ direct energy costs increased by 51.1 %, while their total energy costs increased by 100.8 %.
If only the direct impacts are considered, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia face higher increases in this area. The top three countries on the list are Angola (6.4 %), Azerbaijan (3.5 %) and Benin (3.5 %).
