By Andoni Hidalgo, Public Affairs and Communications Manager at Eurima, the European Insulation Manufacturers Association
Winter 2012
Over the last few years there has been a growing consensus that a strategic and co-ordinated renovation of the building stock is an economic, environmental and social imperative for the EU.
On the economic side, the recovery of the construction sector - which generates almost 10% of the EU's GDP but that has been most hard hit by the economic crisis- will be crucial to boosting economic activity across Europe. In addition, the building stock is responsible for 40% of the EU's final energy consumption, accounting for much of the more than €400 billion in EU energy imports in 2011.
On the environmental side, the building stock accounts for 36% of the EU's CO2 emissions. If the EU is serious about its medium and long-term targets for climate change mitigation, this sector must be addressed properly.
On the social side, building and infrastructure works fell by 16% between January 2008 and November 2011 across the EU-271, and unemployment levels have dramatically risen in this sector. As well as putting people back to work, building renovation will alleviate fuel poverty, an increasing problem for more and more EU citizens, which without serious action will be aggravated by increasing energy prices.
The need for bold action on building renovation has been recognised in the newly adopted Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), under which all 27 EU Member States must establish long-term strategies (or Roadmaps) for mobilising investment in the refurbishment of their national building stock (public and private, residential and commercial) by April 2014.
Building renovation Roadmaps offer European countries a unique opportunity to tap into the massive potential of buildings. This will require thorough planning and innovative approaches in policy-making: Member States will need to systematically and thoroughly assess the performance of the national building stock, to implement and coordinate programmes, policies and measures that deliver ambitious results in the short, medium and long term and they will need to work with new stakeholders, particularly the finance sector, to develop the necessary structures to mobilise and channel investments.
Renovation strategies can appear rather daunting undertakings for many national authorities. However, this Roadmapping exercise is not only feasible, but also indispensable if Member States want to re-launch their economies, create jobs and make huge energy savings. At Eurima we believe that successful building renovation roadmaps require 10 basic elements:
- High ambition level covering a longer period of time, long enough for sustainable change to become visible and materialise. A horizon 2050 would be the best option
- Clear targets, including intermediate milestones: research has demonstrated that, by 2050, the EU building stock can reduce its final energy consumption for heating and cooling by 80%, with a reasonable yearly rate of renovation. This goal should be accompanied by clear intermediate targets (for the years 2040, 2030, etc.)
- The need to address the whole building stock, encouraging the public sector to play a leading role, while applying a holistic or deep approach at individual building level
- Integrate energy performance with broader societal goals, including employment
- Be based on sound analysis of the status quo, identifying existing barriers and ways to overcome them
- Gather support from all levels of Government, market actors and stakeholder parties
- Take into account changes in society, demographics and housing needs
- Include flexible, creative thinking beyond what has been tried before
- Include robust monitoring and evaluation processes
- Address the need for immediate action: if significant results are to be achieved, the work must start now
An overarching principle to all those elements is the uniqueness of each intervention: in order to avoid waste of money and resources, a building refurbished today will not be renovated again for at least 30-40 years. This means that if we want to fully tap into the potential benefits of buildings, we only have one chance to do it right or wrong. Strategic, innovative Roadmaps for building renovation - integrating the elements above - are an essential starting point to make the right choices.
For more info go to: www.eurima.org