Political boost for EU climate and energy objectives

European energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs has welcomed the political agreement on the energy performance of buildings reached by representative of the European Parliament and the Council. This agreement is seen as making a major contribution to achieving EU climate and energy directives for 2020. It will also strengthen the building codes and energy-performance requirements for buildings across the EU and fixes 2020 as the deadline for all new buildings to have near-zero energy consumption.

Andris Piebalgs said, ‘Energy performance of buildings is key to achieving our EN climate and energy objective for 2020 — namely the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions and the achievements of 20% energy savings. Improving the energy performance of buildings is a cost-effective way of fighting against climate change and improving energy security, while also boosting the building sector and the EU economy as a whole.’

The agreement retains the key aspects of the commission proposal presented in 2008. The recast proposal aims to extend the scope and strengthening of the current directive by setting a legal framework to upgrade national building codes and by launching an ambitious policy of nearly zero-energy buildings — so that all new buildings will be nearly zero energy by 2020. For existing buildings, member states will draw up national plans to increase the number of nearly zero-energy buildings.

The recast directive also requires a building’s energy performance certificate to be shown to the prospective new tenant or buyer of a building. It also requires the energy-performance indicator of a building to be stated in sales or rental advertisements.




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