About: energy performance of buildings directive

The EU must regulate embodied carbon to deliver climate-proof buildings

The EU is neglecting emissions from building materials and construction, but the negotiations on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive can fill this gap, writes a group of leading Danish professional associations and NGOs.

Climate impact of new buildings still too high, says independent expert

New standards to reduce carbon emissions in the building sector will not be enough to meet the EU's 2030 and 2050 climate targets, according to a recent report by Building Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), an independent expertise centre. EURACTIV France reports.

EU confronted with lack of skilled labour to support building renovation wave

The EU’s push to improve energy efficiency in buildings and reduce the amount of fossil fuel they consume could create more than 160,000 jobs in the energy and heating sector by 2030, according to the European Commission.

Building decarbonisation

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Reducing emissions from the built environment has become a top priority in the fight against climate change, as buildings currently gobble up 40% of Europe’s energy consumption – most of it fossil fuels.

Better data needed to manage our buildings

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) have immense, as-yet untapped potential to help Europe decarbonise. But the methodology that underpins them must be revamped first, argues Adrian Joyce, who is calling for a reform as part of the upcoming revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

Policies to mitigate high energy prices should fast-track building renovation

It is troubling to see that buildings have been given a relatively small space in the overall strategy to combat rising energy prices, writes Oliver Rapf.

LEAK: Draft EU law introduces new standards to decarbonise buildings by 2050

A draft EU directive, due for publication on 14 December, introduces minimum energy performance standards for existing buildings undergoing major renovation works as part of a renewed push to achieve a zero-emission building stock by 2050.

A piecemeal approach on energy standards for buildings won’t work

Decarbonising Europe’s building stock requires robust Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), not a piecemeal approach that fails to regulate buildings that are ripe for renovation projects, writes Adrian Joyce.

It’s high time to make the EU’s buildings directive fit for 2030 and beyond

The make-or-break decade for deep cuts in energy consumption and carbon emissions has already begun, writes Oliver Rapf. Now it’s time to radically revise our legislation, in particular the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), he argues.

Sweetening the deal for heat decarbonisation

How can we expect people to invest in heat pumps if we deliberately make electricity more expensive than fossil gas, oil and coal? That’s like taxing water and subsidising sugary drinks, argues Samuel Thomas.

A way forward to bring transport and buildings in the ETS

Rapid emission cuts need one carbon price for all sectors, including transport and buildings. But to move quickly enough, we should allow some differentiation for a limited time, writes Georg Zachmann. 

Energy-efficient buildings should be ‘new normal’, says EU’s Simson

The European commissioner for energy, Kadri Simson, on Tuesday (20 April) underlined the importance of the 'Renovation Wave' strategy in combating energy poverty in the European Union, saying that sustainable, energy-efficient buildings should be "the new normal".

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).

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.

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.

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.

Avoid hydrogen for heating homes, urges energy efficiency coalition

A coalition of 33 business and civil society groups have urged the European Commission to prioritise renewables and energy efficiency over hydrogen as part of Europe’s efforts to decarbonise buildings.

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.