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Building efficiency industry calls for 2030 energy savings target for buildings

Date

02 Jun 2014

Sections

Energy
Sustainable Dev.
Europe’s building efficiency industry welcomes the Commission’s intention to propose a binding energy efficiency target in the framework of the 2030 climate and energy package. In a letter addressed to EU Commissioners, five organisations, including PU Europe, call on the Commission to design this target in a way that embraces the full cost-effective saving potential of the EU building stock and is accompanied by a binding sectoral energy savings target for buildings. Oliver Loebel, Managing Director of PU Europe commented, “It is truly encouraging to witness the increasing recognition of energy efficiency as a major enabler of supply security, economic growth and local job creation. On the other hand, there are worries that the target could be set at a level that does not address the savings potential of Europe’s buildings. This could lead to a situation where the target, instead of triggering necessary investments, slows them down.”
 
Buildings consume about 40 % of Europe’s energy and 61 % of all imported gas (1). Their total costeffective savings potential until 2030 is estimated at about 60 %2. The deep renovation of buildings could reduce the sector’s gas imports by 60 % by 2030 and 95 % by 2050. At the same time, up to 1.4 million additional jobs could be created (2). An energy efficiency target below 35 % and not accompanied by a clear signal to the construction sector would hamper the roll-out of deep-renovation projects and favour business-as-usual solutions. This would lock-in savings potentials for decades. “Given the urgent need for a stable, long-term framework, the huge saving potential and multiple economic benefits, we strongly encourage the EU institutions to set a binding sectoral target for buildings as part of the overall energy efficiency target”, Loebel concluded.
 
The letter is available by clicking on the link above.
 
For more details, please contact
PU Europe
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1 Ecofys: Deep renovation of buildings-An effective way to decrease Europe’s energy import dependency (2014)
2 Fraunhofer ISI: Analysis of a European Reference Target System for 2030 (2013)

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