Empowering Lives, Upholding Rights: Energy Efficiency as a Gateway to Human Dignity in Armenia

December 10, 2024

When we talk about human rights, we often focus on grand ideals, but we sometimes overlook their foundation—basic rights that shape everyday life. Among these is the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, enshrined in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This right ensures that every person can live with dignity, security, and comfort.

Energy efficiency is one pathway to realizing this right. By making homes warmer, safer, and healthier, it ensures better living conditions. It also lowers energy costs, easing financial burdens for families, and helps combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In Armenia, an important initiative co-financed by the UNDP, the Green Climate Fund, and the Armenian government is making this vision a reality. Through energy-efficient retrofits of buildings in towns like Dilijan, it not only improves lives but also paves the way for a more sustainable future.

One of the many people benefiting from the energy-efficient retrofit is Teresa, a 66-year-old resident of Dilijan. She and her husband have been raising their two teenage grandchildren with autism, who, after losing their parents, rely entirely on their grandparents for support. Balancing this responsibility on a modest pension has been an ongoing challenge, especially during the harsh winters in their aging Soviet-era building, which suffers from poor insulation and many other problems.

However, the energy-efficient retrofits have brought about a transformative change, allowing Teresa and many of her neighbors to experience warmth and comfort for the first time in years, greatly enhancing their quality of life.

a person sitting on a table — “We used to heat the apartment with firewood, but in recent years, we switched to an electric heater. Before the retrofit, only the room with the heater would warm up, and the rest of the apartment stayed cold. Our legs would freeze, and the kids felt it too. But now, the whole apartment is warm and I can truly feel the difference,” says Tereza.

The upgrades in Teresa's building included adding insulation to the walls, roofs, and basements, and replacing old windows and doors with energy-efficient ones. Modern LED lights were also installed to improve safety and comfort in shared areas. After the retrofit, apartments are usually 4-5 degrees warmer on average.

a building with a mountain in the background

These improvements are not just about saving energy—they are about upholding fundamental human rights by ensuring that all residents, including those with disabilities, have access to a standard of living that supports their health, safety, and overall well-being.

Teresa shares that one of the greatest benefits of the recent changes has been the elimination of mold in the building—a problem that had long affected her family and several of her neighbors.

a man and a woman looking at the camera — “On our side of the building, we don’t get much sunlight, and every year the corner would get moldy and the walls would deteriorate. But that mold is finally gone…We are very satisfied with these improvements.”

People with disabilities, especially those living in rural areas like Dilijan, are particularly vulnerable due to limited access to essential services and specialized care, forcing families like Teresa's to endure the financial and emotional burden of frequent travel to Yerevan. This makes the need for good living standards even more critical, as a comfortable, safe home environment can significantly improve the well-being of both individuals with disabilities and their caregivers.

With the new energy-efficient upgrades, Teresa’s building’s energy efficiency has improved up to 60%, reducing heating and cooling expenses by 40-60%. This reduction in bills has alleviated some of the financial strain on her and many others in Dilijan, where one in every seven families is classified as vulnerable.

a person talking on a cell phone — "The pensions we receive are very small and we have no additional income. So any change towards reducing our costs is very important. I am truly grateful for these changes.”

The retrofits were made possible through a collaboration between the UNDP, the Armenian government, and the Dilijan community. This initiative extends beyond specific regions, providing energy-efficient upgrades to both residential and public buildings across Armenia, offering hope to many residents in need of better living standards.