Ryszard Necel

Adam Mickiewicz University,

Poznań, Poland

Email: necel@amu.edu.pl

ORCID 0000-0001-6709-0862 

The experience of rising energy prices and ecological orientations in selected European countries

Agnieszka Nymś-Górna

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland

Email: agnieszka.nyms@amu.edu.pl

ORCID 0000-0001-5538-1953

Dorota Wiśniewska

University of Economics and Business,

Poznań, Poland

Email: dorota.wisniewska@ue.poznan.pl

ORCID 0000-0002-2584-9495

Abstract. This article examines the relationship between households’ experiences of rising energy costs and their ecological orientations in selected European countries against the backdrop of the 2022/2023 energy crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Using a survey methodology (computer-assisted web interviewing) in Poland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland, the research examines how the financial impact of the energy crisis was perceived by households and how this perception correlates with demographic characteristics, financial status, energy use and ecological orientation. The research aims to contribute to the discourse on energy vulnerability and energy poverty from the perspective of the lived experience of household energy bills. The results show that energy price increases are a universal experience among European households, but their intensity varies depending on factors such as age, education, income, location, gender and housing ownership status. Interestingly, the use of renewable energy sources has been found to reduce the perceived negative impact of rising energy costs. Another important finding of the research is that household vulnerability to energy prices is linked to an individual’s ecological orientation. The findings pose a key challenge for sustainable development policies, pointing to the need to balance reducing the financial burden on citizens with the urgent need to protect the environment during energy crises.

Received: July, 2025

1st Revision: May, 2026

Accepted: June, 2026

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2026/19-2/9

JEL Classification: A13, C38, D14

Keywords: energy costs, energy crises, ecological orientations, lived experience