Energy efficiency
EU urged to bring building ‘renovation wave’ into recovery plan
The European Commission should make its future pandemic recovery plan conditional on commitments to the green transition, says Bendt Bendtsen, a former MEP who is now leading a Danish interest group lobbying for energy efficiency.
Beyond the corona darkness: Bringing light, air and sustainability into people’s homes
The European Green Deal must be central to the recovery programme needed to transition out of the crisis caused by COVID-19, writes Oliver Rapf. And the European Commission's upcoming building renovation wave should be at the centre of it, he argues.
Enel says digital drive has given it hedge on coronavirus threat
Italy’s biggest utility, Enel, does not expect the coronavirus epidemic to have any major impact on its results and says its drive to digitalise operations has given it an advantage. Enel has been ramping up spending on digital networks to...
Europe warned about virus impact on clean tech
Governments across Europe should keep clean energy top of mind as they consider measures to protect their economies against a likely recession caused by the coronavirus, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.
Why number crunching can make or break Europe’s climate ambition
After the EU committed to climate neutrality by mid-century, the European Commission is now busy performing a detailed cost-benefit analysis of raising the bloc’s climate target for 2030. Brook Riley peaks into the EU's modelling engine room to decipher the assumptions behind the figures.
Energy ‘sector coupling’ requires 75% more electricity, study says
Direct and indirect electrification of transport, buildings and industry could deliver a 60% reduction in carbon emissions across Europe by 2050 – but that will require a massive upsurge in clean power output, according to BloombergNEF, a research company.
Enlighten the Climate Law with energy efficiency first!
Europe must take the fastest and most cost-effective route towards a carbon-neutral EU, write Adrian Joyce and Julie Kjestrup. And that means starting where the potential is biggest: buildings.
UK carbon emissions hit lowest level since 1888
The UK’s CO2 emissions fell by another 2.9% in 2019, bringing the total reduction in the past decade to 28%, even as the British economy grew by a fifth, according to fresh data published on Tuesday (3 March).
Cooling down Europe’s heating system
If we want Europe to go carbon neutral, we must stop manufacturing and selling technologies based on oil and gas – starting with heating systems, write Davide Sabbadin and Melissa Zill.
EU way off the mark on energy savings goal, latest figures show
The EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, published new figures on energy consumption for 2018 this week (4 February). As expected, they weren’t good, with the EU as a whole set to miss its 2020 energy efficiency objective by a margin of up to 5%, in what campaigners called the "biggest miss" of all EU climate targets.
Danish MEP: ‘Sector coupling is absolutely key for Europe’s climate and energy ambitions’
When it comes to energy regulations, the EU tends to legislate in silos, writing directives on renewables, energy efficiency or electricity and gas markets. But with the upcoming sector coupling strategy, it needs to do exactly the opposite, says Morten Petersen.
Europe plans to harness ‘power of data’ in support of Green Deal
The EU Green Deal “needs digitalisation as an enabler for decarbonisation” in all sectors of the economy, including transport and energy, the European Commission says in a draft policy document, seen by EURACTIV.
Glass: A low-hanging fruit for the climate – and a tough nut to crack
Glass is irreplaceable in buildings, making it a key part of the solution to unlock energy savings and help reach Europe's decarbonisation targets. But it's also an energy-intensive industry, for which no immediate clean energy alternative is available.
Glass industry boss: Replacing old windows can bring huge energy savings
If Europe goes climate neutral, it will consume more flat glass, predicts Christian Quenett. And the benefits could be huge: simply doubling the replacement rate of windows, in line with the European Green Deal, would achieve 20% of the EU’s energy efficiency targets for 2030, he says.
EU to name and shame climate plan laggards ‘in the coming days’
Just over half of European Union countries have submitted their final national energy and climate plans (NECPs) to the European Commission by the 1 January deadline, a senior official has said, warning that the EU executive will soon publish the full list of countries online.
A Green Deal that works for everyone – Making the renovation wave a reality
The European Commission’s announced renovation wave offers an opportunity to bring the EU back on track when it comes to energy efficiency measures in buildings, write Marion Santini and Jan Rosenow.
As wind and solar power rise, EU seeks more grid ‘flexibility’
An integrated electricity market, with more grid interconnections and storage solutions “of all types” are at the centre of EU plans to build a more resilient electricity system able to deal with growing shares of variable wind and solar power.
The time is now to show leadership on global climate activities
It is with the backdrop of the climate emergency that the world is gathered in Madrid for COP25. COP, and the climate, matters more than ever. We urgently need action, and Europe should lead.
Capturing the untapped benefits of deep energy renovation
As the European Green Deal takes shape, it bears repeating that the state of EU buildings holds the potential to make or break whatever energy, emissions and environmental targets are set in the coming months, writes Adrian Joyce.
Skilled workers shortage could stall Germany’s progress on climate targets
In 2005, unemployment in Germany reached 11.7%. At the end of 2019, the figure more than halved to 5%. This means it is increasingly difficult for companies operating in Germany to find skilled workers and fill vacancies. And it has an impact on sales revenues, as well as Germany’s and Europe’s ability to achieve carbon neutrality goals.
COP25: Countries pressed to deliver
The COP is meant to pave the way for countries to raise their climate ambition before the end of crucial year 2020. Climate negotiators know that they are under tight scrutiny from stakeholders, first and foremost cities, businesses, and Fridays for Future.
Buildings must be at the heart of the European Green Deal. Here’s why
Making our buildings climate-proof is not only about reducing the 36% of CO2 emissions they are responsible for, but about doing so while caring for the people that live in them, writes Oliver Rapf.
EU climate investment falls behind China and the US
The European Union continues to lag behind in terms of ‘green’ investment compared with China and the US, the EIB warned on Tuesday (26 November). The lender said that financing should increase by one-third to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
Housing renovation plan will be ‘flagship’ of European Green Deal
A housing renovation programme, aimed at reducing energy consumption of buildings, will be “one of the flagships” of the upcoming European Green Deal that will be unveiled by the European Commission next month, an EU official has said.
Heat networks in focus as EU cities confront building emissions
Last year, the European Union embarked on a mission to decarbonise the building sector, currently responsible for 40% of the bloc’s energy use. And cities with district heat networks have a head start when it comes to integrating new low-carbon energy sources.Supporter
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