Last week I was in Brussels for the European Union's Sustainable Energy Week 2008. It is the central event for the EU's sustainable energy campaign in Europe , offering stakeholders a forum on sustainable energy. My focus was on the session evaluating the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which came into force in Jan 2003.
We start from the fact that buildings consume 40% of total energy in the EU. By cutting the energy use in buildings by about 30 %, Europe's energy consumption would fall by 11%, more than half of the 20-20-20 target (20% less carbon dioxide by 2020, with 20% renewables in the energy mix). What's more, it saves money. No wonder that the EPBD is the centerpiece of the EU's energy strategy, with these five themes:
- Certification of buildings' energy performance
- Regular inspection of boilers and air conditioning
- Training of experts and inspectors
- Calculation procedures
- Minimum Energy Performance in Buildings
It wont be easy, though. The building stock in the EU amounts to 21 billion m2. The annual production of new buildings is 1%, demolition rate about 0.5% and retrofit about 1.8 %. At that rate it will take a very long time to improve energy efficiency. A comprehensive and aggressive approach will be needed to reach the 30% target.
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