On 28 November, 15 European organisations including representatives of the heating, cogeneration, biogas, infrastructure and gas sectors, along with SMEunited and EBC, have issued a joint statement addressed to EU Energy Ministers and the European Parliament to call for a bottom-up approach that would lead to an integrated system efficiency, in the context of the ongoing revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
This statement advocates for a cost-efficient decarbonisation of the European building stock that takes all available technologies and systems on board. Indeed, signatories agree on the need to strive for smart, integrated, and increasingly renewable-based energy systems that consider local circumstances and consumers’ needs. All renewable and efficient energy solutions, whether deployed on-site via energy grids or off-grid, should play a role in making EU buildings more energy-efficient.
The organisations behind this statement emphasize the fact that a bottom-up approach is key towards ensuring a cost-effective decarbonisation that empowers local actors, such as consumers or SMEs. The affordability of sustainable heating solutions could be the cornerstone of a Just Transition in the buildings sector, as a means to incentivize consumers and ensure that the least well-off can also benefit. Solutions that balance peaks and reward demand-side management should be integrated into any strategy to decarbonise residential heating.
In view of the current EU energy challenges, EBC highlights the importance to make use and untap the full potential of all renewable-based systems to meet the ambition to make European buildings climate-neutral by 2050. Indeed, all renewable-ready heating technologies could play a role and contribute to the cost-efficient decarbonisation of the European building stock.
 | To read the full joint statement “EPBD: A Bottom-Up Approach for Integrated System Efficiency,” click here To read EBC’s feedback on the EC proposal for the revision of the EPBD, click here. |