Energy performance of buildings

From Brussels with love: the secret to spending the recovery fund

The post-COVID recovery funds need to be spent quickly by member states already struggling with absorption rates. President Ursula von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans need to promote the help available, writes Brook Riley.

The female face of energy poverty is still invisible

Women are more likely to live in energy poverty, something that needs to be reflected in EU policy as it rolls out its renovation wave, writes Michaela Kauer.

Italy’s celebrated building renovation scheme hits a snag

Last year, Italy launched an unprecedented plan allowing homeowners to finance 110% of energy efficiency renovation works through tax deductions. Almost one year on, the widely celebrated scheme is hitting snags related to mounting costs and bureaucracy.

What now? Policymakers mull options for greater energy system integration

Consumers will be at the centre of EU efforts to create a more integrated energy system, with local authorities playing an essential role to bring energy users closer to suppliers in a bid to maximise efficiency and cut greenhouse gas...

Green Homes Grant scheme to officially close this week, UK Government confirms

The UK Government has confirmed that it will axe its Green Homes Grant Scheme, which had £1.5bn of its £2bn funding pot withdrawn, on Wednesday (31 March).

ETS revision will include buildings and road transport, EU Commissioner says

The European Commission's upcoming June package of energy and climate laws will “propose the extension of the emission trading scheme to sectors such as building and road transport,” the EU's energy commissioner Kadri Simson said on Thursday (25 March).

UK government’s green homes grant in urgent need of rescue, MPs say

The UK government’s flagship home insulation scheme, intended to kickstart a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, has been botched, disastrous in administration, devastating in some of its impacts, and stands in urgent need of rescue, an influential committee of MPs has said. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

EU’s green building push risks driving homelessness, activists warn

The European Commission must ensure that plans to price carbon emissions in the building sector does not lead to growing rates of homelessness, campaigners said on Wednesday (17 March).

How carbon pricing is driving the renovation of Czech homes

Like other European countries, the Czech Republic’s buildings are in need of renovation. Unlike others, it partly funds renovation programmes with revenues generated from the emission trading scheme (ETS), an experiment that could be replicated across the EU.

Abolition of energy-saving incentives worries French building sector

The €2 billion of financial aid to boost energy renovation in France's COVID recovery plan may not be enough to compensate for the abolition of financial assistance provided to households under the so-called “energy saving incentives” – or what the French ministry has branded "coups de pouce isolation". EURACTIV France reports.

Renovation strategies will not deliver net-zero by 2050

Member states continue to underplay the role of the building sector in reaching net zero by 2050, despite the fact that European buildings account for 40% of our energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions, writes Oliver Rapf.

Eco-homes become hot property in UK’s zero-carbon ‘paradigm shift’

Smart, low-carbon homes were once the preserve of one-off grand designs – now there are up to 30,000 projects in the pipeline, writes EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian Environment.

National renovation plans falling short of EU’s 2050 climate goal: study

The long-term renovations strategies that EU countries submitted last year to the European Commission are not in line with the bloc's objective of reaching climate-neutrality by 2050, according to fresh analysis due to be published this week.

The New Bauhaus: culture as a path to a better Europe

The New European Bauhaus initiative aims to use the creativity of Europe to meet the European Green Deal targets. It encourages us to think outside of the box for a better Europe, write Mariya Gabriel and Domènec Ruiz Devesa.

EU countries back green building renovations, but quiet on binding standards

European Union countries will rally behind the bloc's plan to massively expand building renovations to cut emissions, according to a draft document, but it did not explicitly endorse using legally-binding energy performance standards to do it.

Why the Commission is getting it wrong on climate number-crunching

The European Commission's cost-benefit analysis for its upcoming 'Fit for 55' package of green laws for 2030 is outdated, assuming an eye-watering 10% cost of capital for climate action, writes Brook Riley.

Czech coal mining regions confronted with ‘hidden’ energy poverty

While Czech coal mining regions supply heat and electricity to the whole country, local people are often unable to afford heating their own homes, researchers say. More broadly, Czechia is struggling to meet its EU reporting obligations on energy poverty, an issue common to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

The European Bauhaus, an opportunity to shift paradigms and shape our buildings

While the European Commission is well-positioned to initiate the development and implementation of a new European Bauhaus, it must be truly open to the ideas of a wide array of contributors and committed to supporting a diversity of perspectives, writes...

30 million Europeans were in energy poverty in 2019

Thirty million Europeans – the equivalent of Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic's populations combined – were unable to adequately heat their homes in 2019, according to a new report from the Jacques Delors Institute.

French citizens want better homes. Why are politicians standing in their way?

If it enshrines into its upcoming climate bill mandatory building renovation, France will answer the Citizens’ Convention on Climate’s call for better homes and contribute significantly to the EU’s 55% emission reduction target by 2030, writes Etienne Charbit.

‘Matching sustainability with style’: EU lifts veil on new European Bauhaus initiative

The European Commission is inviting “creative minds” across Europe to contribute ideas to the "New European Bauhaus", an initiative aimed at designing new ways of living to meet the objectives of the European Green Deal.

Planet-warming emissions from buildings put climate goals at risk

Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and construction are jeopardising global goals to keep devastating climate change at bay, a UN-backed coalition warned on Wednesday (16 December), after data showed they hit an all-time high in 2019.

‘Complete overhaul’ of buildings needed to meet EU’s 2030 climate goal

Europe needs a “complete overhaul” of its buildings to meet a higher 2030 emissions reduction target, according to new research published today (3 December).

Biggest challenge in energy transition is social justice, EU official says

While legitimate worries are being expressed about funding for low-carbon technologies to meet EU climate goals, the biggest challenge will be to manage the energy transition in a way that does not deepen social inequalities, a senior EU official has said.