Further Information

Buildings use about 40% of total final energy consumption in the EU while their lower energy efficiency in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) gives this sector a greater importance there. Increasing energy efficiency in the building sector is therefore a priority. Over a million new buildings will be erected during the next 15 years in the EU and about 1-2% of the building stock is renovated per year. Major energy efficiency gains can be achieved when a building is renovated or newly built. These factors led the Commission to propose a Directive on the energy performance of buildings including a set of measures to reduce their energy consumption, which was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in December 20029.

Europe is at the forefront of many aspects of building design such as the combination of architectural design and technology. Strengthening this lead and translating it into standard European practice is desirable as is transferring this knowledge into building rehabilitation.

This key action is intended to make a substantial contribution to developing and promoting tailored sets of measures to improve the performance of buildings, including measures to reduce the energy consumption as well as small-scale CHP and RES applications. It aims also to serve as a catalyst for the take-off of the buildings Directive and to prepare and accelerate its implementation. The main focus is on the retrofitting of buildings. The Target areas to be addressed are:

• Tools for the take-off of the buildings directive (partly via Calls for tenders)
• Schemes for the implementation of energy services in buildings (e.g. Energy Performance Contracting), in particular retrofitting
• Public buildings as shining examples
• Promotion of best practice examples of high energy performance buildings