Page 28 - European Energy Innovation - spring 2019 publication
P. 28
28 Spring 2019 European Energy Innovation
BUILDINGS ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Want to reach climate
neutrality by 2050?
Then start with our buildings!
Adrian Joyce is Secretary General sets out the actions needed to can play in decarbonising the EU. It
of EuroACE, the European Alliance of achieve climate neutrality by 2050. It correctly recalls that buildings use
Companies for Energy Efficiency in describes eight potential pathways to above 40% of all primary energy
Buildings, the leading industry voice achieve its aim, each one containing a and that there is a huge potential to
on energy performance of buildings different emphasis and different mix dramatically reduce energy use in
within the EU policy context. In this of technologies. The road to climate buildings through higher renovation
editorial comment he outlines why neutrality must, it says, be built on rates although it does not mention
the EU cannot expect to achieve seven strategic buildings blocks. that the higher rates must be coupled
its ambition for a climate-neutral with higher levels of ambition in
economy by 2050 without solving the The first, and for me most important, renovation projects. The focus
energy waste crisis in our buildings. building block mentioned is to then changes to a long text on fuel
maximise the benefits from energy switching and the use of sustainable
A Clean Planet for All is the efficiency including zero emission renewable heating to achieve the
surprising start to the title of the buildings. I fully agree that putting decarbonisation objective.
recently launched Communication energy efficiency first is right and
of the European Commission on I was pleased to see that it is the From my perspective, the
the European strategic long-term first building block mentioned in the Communication has not accounted
vision for a prosperous, modern, Commission document. However, for the supporting analysis in
competitive and climate neutral it is practically the only place in the an adequate manner. In the
economy in which the Commission entire Communication where energy analysis (page 90), we see that the
efficiency gets the prominence it Commission acknowledges that the
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS IN deserves. target renovation rate to achieve our
SUPPORT OF THE COMMISSION ambitions should be at least 3% per
COMMUNICATION COM(2018) 773 My alarm at this lack of attention year up to 2050. We then find that
to the role that energy efficiency on page 102, the renovation rates
A Clean Planet for all can and must play in getting the used in the eight modelled scenarios
A European long-term strategic EU on the path to a climate-neutral are a maximum of 1.8% and then only
vision for a prosperous, modern, economy by 2050 was further in the residential sector! This clearly
competitive and climate neutral accentuated when I took a close look demonstrates that the full potential
at the logo used by the European for energy savings in the buildings
economu Commission in conjunction with the sector has not been considered,
Communication (see picture). In thus contradicting the analysis that
Is this a graphic illustration of how all the icons used in the doughnut accompanies the Communication.
the role of buildings is overlooked shape, there is just one building and it
in the long-term decarbonisation is a factory building used to make the The analysis of the buildings sector
strategy? observer think of industry. Practically leaves the reader with an accurate
all the other icons are ones that lead appreciation of the challenge of
the observer to think of renewable achieving highly energy efficiency
energy supply or efficient products and decarbonised buildings as it
and none make you think of our describes an integrated approach
buildings in which we all spend nearly that includes a narrative on improved
90% of our time! energy performance of the building
envelope that must be coupled with
The Communication, on page 8, optimised technical building systems
correctly refers to the role that higher and appropriately designed building
energy performance of buildings automation and control systems.
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