Energy efficient buildings: the insurance policy against high energy bills

(EurActiv, 13 Mar 2023) The energy performance of buildings directive will lower energy bills, reduce Europe’s energy dependence and stimulate economic growth, writes Green MEP Ciarán Cuffe.

Ciarán Cuffe is a Green lawmaker and architect from Ireland. He is in charge of drafting the European Parliament’s stance on revising the energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD).

A solution to ever-increasing energy prices that will bring down bills, reduce Europe’s energy dependence, and create hundreds of thousands of local jobs quite literally surrounds us: buildings.

Buildings are top energy consumers in the EU, accounting for 40% of energy demand and pumping out 36% of our C02 emissions.

Why? Because millions of buildings – seven out of 10 – are energy inefficient.

As a result of this astonishing level of inefficiency, consumers and businesses across Europe lose enormous amounts of money every year. They are paying the price for inefficiency in sky-high energy bills and every day millions of euros are spent on energy that is simply going to waste.

We cannot allow this situation to continue. We can stop this with a robust and ambitious energy efficiency policy for Europe’s building stock.

The energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD) aims to transform Europe’s buildings into a highly energy efficient stock by 2050. The agreement reached on the law in the industry and energy (ITRE) committee delivers on this potential and will be put to a vote by all MEPs next Tuesday in Strasbourg.

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EurActiv, 13 Mar 2023: Energy efficient buildings: the insurance policy against high energy bills