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Home Opinions Energy & Environment Energy Energy performance of buildings Building renovation can provide new momentum to the European project

Building renovation can provide new momentum to the European project

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By Oliver Rapf

*!l May 31, 2017 (upda:ed:f3jun 1.2017}

This artide is pan of our special repon Health activists join EU building renovation crusade.

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Politicians often ignore building renovation programmes as low-level politics reserved for energy experts. This is misguided, says Oliver Rapf - as renovation stands at the crux of economic, energy, social and even health policies.

Oliver Rapf is Executive Director ofthe Buildings Performance Institute Europę (BPIE).

Our buildings are - to a large degree - no longer fit for purpose. 75% of the EU building stock is considered inefficienL Recent data from the European Building Stock Observatory shows that an average of 16% of buildings (ranging to over 30% in some countries) do not provide adequate indoor quality, resulting in high social, economic and environmental costs.

It is high time to make our buildings fit for purpose, and in the process, create local jobs, generate economic growth and reduce fossil fuel dependency.

Without doubt, we need to address this issue urgently, and the ongoing political negotiations on the Clean energy for all Europeans package over the coming months are the once-in-a-decade opportunity to define a framework which creates both elear regulation and a system of incentives to drive deep renovation.

The multiple benefits of renovation are well known: deep renovation leads to energy security,