Energy performance of buildings
EU official: Households will save €500 a year from existing EU energy-saving laws
The European Commission has put changes in place that are making household appliances more energy efficient and recyclable. But the key will be in implementation of these rules, says the Commission's director for Industrial transformation.
Going climate neutral: Will EU leaders give the green light?
As EU leaders prepare to debate the European Commission’s proposal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, most eyes will again be on Poland, writes Brook Riley.
Time to address Europe’s hot and cold homes crisis
Most European countries have significant energy poverty problems and are unable to keep their citizens warm during winter. In fact, that applies as much to cooling as to heating, writes Adrian Joyce.
Energy consumption continues to rise in Europe: Eurostat
Energy consumption in Europe rose for the third consecutive year in 2017, pulling the EU further away from its 2020 energy efficiency objective, according to official figures published on Thursday (7 February).
‘Energy sobriety’: A disruptive notion catching on in France
The idea of reducing – or altogether avoiding – energy consumption is starting to catch on among French local authorities. But the concept struggles at European level because it directly challenges our economic growth model. EURACTIV France reports.
EU at risk of missing 2020 energy efficiency targets: Lessons for 2030
EU energy consumption is rising despite targets to reduce demand across Europe. This should not come as a surprise and is explained mainly by GDP growth, writes Samuel Thomas.
Academic: Oil and gas boilers should be banned across Europe by 2030
Emissions from residential heating can be drastically reduced if Europe agrees a ban on new oil and gas boiler installations by 2030 at the latest, according to a Danish researcher who led an EU-wide study to decarbonise the heating and cooling sector.OpinionPromoted content
Taking buildings to the next level(s), sustainably!
Stakeholders gather today to exchange on the future use of Level(s), a European voluntary reporting framework to improve the sustainability of buildings. Level(s) could be the basis for a future European construction-sector policy, where energy regulations could be extended to cover other environmental and social criteria.
Commission must not take its eye off the ball for decarbonisation by 2050
The European Commission will need clarity, nerve and vision to chart a decarbonisation path to 2050 that addresses the nearly 40% of Europe’s emissions that currently come from buildings, writes Adrian Joyce.
Think-tank: Artificially low electricity prices ‘not good for EDF’ nor consumers
Artificially low energy prices in France are one of the reasons why former state monopoly EDF loses money, says Thomas Pellerin-Carlin. Moreover, regulated prices are useless to protect vulnerable consumers from energy poverty and “almost never leads to low energy bills,” he argues.
Europe’s path to carbon neutrality: A move to ‘sobriété énergétique’?
What is 'sobriété énergétique' and what is its role in pushing Europe towards its carbon reduction goals? Kamila Waciega explains.
Time to deliver: Putting building renovation into practice
Addressing energy poverty and developing new financial tools to boost energy savings are two things governments could do in practice to go beyond the targets outlined in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and start renovating the European building stock for real.
REDay2018: key outputs from the conference
The amended Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) contains a vision for 2050 for the buildings stock in the EU – it will have to be highly energy efficient and decarbonised, reaching cost-effective nearly zero energy levels.
French MP: Building renovation needs to get everyone on board
To succeed in renovating the European building stock by 2050, all the governance levels need to be involved, from local to national, French MP Marjolaine Meynier-Millefert told EURACTIV, adding that people who cannot afford the costs of renovation must not be left behind.
Renovation of buildings: The fight is over, time to implement
The vision for decarbonising the European building stock is clear enough: now comes the time for the member states to enforce these commitments.
Healthy buildings expert: ‘Homes cause hurricanes’
At the Healthy Buildings Day (HBD) in Brussels last week (26 September), academic experts painted a vivid picture of how the edifices we spend our days in shape our lives and the planet itself.
Building a better business case for healthy buildings
Homeowners are often put off fixing a leaky roof or banishing damp from the downstairs bathroom due to the costs involved. But a business case is quickly building in favour of renovations.
‘It’s the housing, stupid’: How homes harm our health
Most of Europe’s buildings are over forty years old and are largely inefficient. Poorly insulated, leaky buildings have a real impact on inhabitant and worker health, according to the latest edition of the Healthy Homes Barometer.
How building renovation and electrification of transport can help us reach the Paris goals
At first glance, buildings and transport may look like two unrelated subjects. But with the mass deployment of electric vehicles, managing the electricity consumption of cars when they recharge becomes critical to ensure grid stability, writes Harry Verhaar.
Energy efficiency: ‘Tough legislation means tough enforcement’
New EU rules on buildings and energy efficiency standards, adopted earlier this year, are “tough but fair” and will need to be implemented and enforced correctly, according to the architects of the legislation.
Bendt Bendtsen MEP: Time for EU countries to draft building strategies, ‘we’ll be watching’
Nearly half of Europe’s energy is used up by buildings but new rules adopted by the EU earlier this year wants to inject efficiency en masse into the sector and improve massively the edifices in which we live and work. EURACTIV spoke with the lawmaker behind the new legislation.
Healthy buildings: Good for our wallets?
‘Healthy mind, healthy body’, so the saying goes - but both are affected by the buildings in which we live and work. This year’s edition of the Healthy Homes Barometer reveals what the challenges and solutions might be.
More banks join EU-backed pilot scheme for green mortgages
Deutsche Hypothekenbank in Germany and Ecology Building Society in the UK were the latest to join a group of 37 pioneering banks offering an energy efficiency mortgage pilot scheme to homeowners.