129 November 2011

Energy efficiency in buildings: investing in Europe’s climate and energy security

Torsten WöllertDG Climate Action

Low Carbon Technologies Unit

2Main points

Building sector is key to reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions

Enormous potential and low hanging fruits in the European building sector

It’s not rocket science, numerous success stories throughout the EU

Improving energy efficiency in buildings is about jobs, growth, new technologies and skills, lower energy bills, nicer neighbourhoods…

3

…building sector is a key…

By 2050 the EU has to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 80%-95%. At least 80% of these reductions will have to be achieved domestically in Europe.

Buildings account for nearly 40% of the EU's energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions from households are still increasing.

By the middle of this century, emissions from buildings can be cut by 90% below 1990 levels.

4…enormous potential in the EU building

sector…

Energy saving measures are cost-efficient: Turning down thermostats, turning off lights come at no cost Programmable thermostats, presence detectors for lights are low

cost solutions saving costs and improving comfort Energy efficient boilers, energy efficient lighting, more efficient air

conditioning have typical payback times of less than 4 years Wall insulation and window replacement are cost-effective over

their lifetime

Currently, less than 2% of Europe's existing buildings are renovated every year. The current pace and "depth" of renovation is not sufficient!

5

…it’s not rocket science…

Off-the-shelf technologies and solutions can reduce energy consumption of a typical building by 40 to 70%

6... why is progress slow?

Numerous barriers hold back large scale improvement of energy efficiency:

Energy costs are sometimes relatively small Energy saving benefits can be outweighed by

the refurbishment inconveniences Landlord/tenant split

Finding relevant data on the energy performance of buildings and their components is not easy

A number of energy efficiency measures such as wall insulation, window and boiler replacement require significant initial investment

Buildings come in different shapes, sizes and ages. Finding an optimal set of energy efficiency measures, getting construction permits and having good contractors doing the right job can be expensive and time consuming

7

... strong policies at all levels are needed …

…to ensure that: all barriers are addressed sufficient funds are

available appropriate energy

efficiency measures are correctly installed

8...jobs, growth, new technologies and

skills…

Over the next decade investments in energy-saving building components will need to be increased by up to € 200 billion

We could achieve a net gain of up to 1.5 million new jobs in the construction sector and related industries. Many of these are high technology jobs that cannot be out-sourced to other regions

Cohesion policy could be an important tool to make it happen!