‘Complete overhaul’ of buildings needed to meet EU’s 2030 climate goal

(EurActiv, 3 Dec 2020) Europe needs a “complete overhaul” of its buildings to meet a higher 2030 emissions reduction target, according to new research.

In its flagship building renovation wave, the European Commission announced it wanted to double the rate of energy-related building renovation by 2030, which currently stands at 1%.

This is insufficient to meet the EU’s updated 2030 climate goals, according to a new report by the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), which says the renovation target should hit at least 3% annually to avoid having to renovate a huge amount of buildings in the 2030s and 2040s.

“It’s not going to be an easy task,” said Oliver Rapf, executive director at the BPIE. “At the moment, we’re at 0.2% deep renovation rate or at 1% if you take all renovations into account. So the challenge is enormous, but we also know, looking at other sectors and how quickly they have gone through a transformation, it is possible”.

The new research is being published ahead of an EU summit next week where European leaders will aim to agree new climate goals for 2030.

The European Commission has proposed plans to target a 55% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels, up from a current target of 40%.

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EurActiv, 3 Dec 2020: ‘Complete overhaul’ of buildings needed to meet EU’s 2030 climate goal