From the report
“Some 47 million people throughout the EU, Switzerland and Norway were unable to heat their homes sufficiently in winter 2023/2024, corresponding to 10.2 per cent of the population. This figure has risen dramatically since 2021, at which time it had been around 31 million. The figures are especially high not in the cold areas of Europe but in the warmer ones: regions in Spain, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria and Italy. Lithuania also stands out.
Why are so many people in Europe – as much as 30 per cent of the population in some regions – unable to adequately heat their living spaces?
According to experts, three factors are decisive when it comes to so-called energy poverty: unrenovated buildings, high energy costs and low income. All three are causing problems in Europe.“
How the network works
Local media across Europe are facing an existential crisis. Yet, they remain a cornerstone of democracy—nearly one in two Europeans reads local news every week. Local journalism connects people to their everyday realities, making abstract crises more tangible and shedding light on possible solutions.
CORRECTIV.Europe strengthens this vital form of journalism by supporting collaborative, data-driven investigations, networking, and training. The goal is to establish a sustainable network for local media and journalists, promoting evidence-based reporting across Europe while filling gaps in cross-border coverage with tangible local impact.
The network collaborates with its members to identify relevant research topics. It then gathers and processes highly localized data, focusing on small administrative regions, while offering a broader European perspective.
Members receive this data along with an “investigation recipe”—a guide on how to use the data, including country-specific reports, maps, expert statements, and story ideas.
With this foundation, members create their own local stories and publish them simultaneously to maximize impact on the broader topic at hand.
Everyone working in local journalism in Europe is welcome to join — whether at a daily newspaper, a broadcaster, a student media outlet, or as a freelancer.
