The European Union has adopted the term energy-saving for some years now but action plans still need to be taken. The construction sector has come forward with further encouragement for the political actors by initiating a taskforce. The E2APT, Energy Efficiency Action Plan Taskforce of the Construction Sector in a press release urges an immediate review of existing buildings to reduce CO2 emissions

Following the announcement, on July 8th 2010, by the Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger, that the European Commission expects to adopt a new EU strategy or action plan on the subject of Energy Efficiency in early 2011, the Construction Sector has issued a paper that shows the necessity of setting ambitious, realistic targets for the deep energy renovation of buildings. The paper authoritatively points out that without paying immediate attention to buildings, it will be impossible to achieve the ambitions of the EU to reduce CO2 emissions by 80-95% by 2050 as compared to 1990 levels.

The initiative to bring together the actors and stakeholders in the construction sector at European level has been led by the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE). Its sole objective was to devise a broadly accepted paper containing proposals for submission to the European Commission, the European Parliament and other decision makers as an input to their deliberations on what should be included in any policies on energy saving with regard to buildings, in particular the existing building stock. Action at EU level on this issue is deemed vital to ensure a rapid recovery from the economic crisis and, more importantly, to significantly contribute to the goal of ensuring that global warming is restricted to less than 2°C as compared to pre-industrial levels.

It is widely acknowledged that there is an imperative need to improve energy efficiency in the

European Union, although it comes at the eleventh hour in the challenge of keeping global

temperature rises to below 2°C as compared to pre-industrial levels. In the specific field of energy efficiency, the EU has set an indicative target of achieving 20% energy savings by 2020. The best, most cost effective and reliable way to achieve this 2020 target is to establish the framework necessary for a total transformation in the way that the energy efficiency of existing buildings, of which there is an estimated 210 million in the EU, is addressed. Future EU energy saving strategies and policies must place the deep energy renovation of existing buildings as the centrepiece of action and bring into force the necessary accompanying measures in associated fields such as increased research, education and training, manufacturing and renovation capacity, high quality building certification schemes, balanced, progressive fiscal and financial incentives and effective compliance schemes.

The paper issued by the ACE following consultation with many actors in the construction sector points out that there is a need to set binding targets for the deep energy renovation of existing buildings that are complementary to the strengthened requirements for new buildings set out in the recently recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2010/31/EU). All renovations of buildings must ensure that the energy performance of the building after renovation is significantly better (up to 90% better) than it was beforehand and that the extent of increased energy performance must, in some way, be tied to the building regulations for new buildings in force in the relevant country. Additional requirements and progressively increasing fiscal and financial incentives are necessary to ensure that deeper renovations become the business as usual practice and clearly cost-optimal.

The paper can be accessed on the website of the ACE at:

http://www.ace-cae.eu/public/contents/getdocument/content_id/868