The Unassuming Economist

From Social Europe:

“There are fears the revised directive on energy performance due from the European Commission will not be adequate to the task.

The revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), expected from the European Commission today, as part of the Fit for 55 package, is a legislative milestone which cannot go under the radar.

In the bloc’s effort to achieve climate neutrality and fulfil its international climate commitments, the building sector has a systemic role to play. The EPBD is the main policy instrument regulating buildings across the European Union.

Since its first adoption in 2002, the legislation has been key to improving the energy performance of the European building stock, by fostering energy efficiency and aiming at long-term decarbonisation. But given the need to take decisive action in this decade to tackle the climate emergency, the time has come for a comprehensive revision, to fill gaps and raise ambition.  

Profound transformations are urgently needed to decarbonise buildings, ensuring that the sector contributes to the efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5C. Indeed, the homes and offices which surround us today are among the main culprits of the climate crisis, accounting for around 40 per cent of all energy consumed and 36 per cent of energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions in the EU.”

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