EU member states will need technical support to implement the newly agreed Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, but political will across the 27 capitals will be crucial to deliver on the new sustainable buildings law.
Success for the EU’s REPowerEU strategy will make Europe’s buildings more energy efficient and reduce Europe's reliance on Russian fossil fuels, but McKinsey says tech scale-up is needed to reach targets.
UEFA and the German Football Association (DFB) hope to deliver an environmentally conscious EURO 2024, amid concerns surrounding the continuation of major sporting events in the age of climate change.
France is aiming for gold in sustainability at this year’s Olympics, promising to host ‘the greenest’ Games in history this summer. But many hurdles remain.
Mass electrification of light transport, buildings, and support for electrification of industrial processes will be essential, according to a new 2050 scenario.
Europe has ample new technologies to improve energy efficiency and save CO2, but getting those technologies connected and used efficiently is problematic, said Milenko Tošić, director of innovation at VizLore Labs Foundation.
One of the biggest obstacles to deploying energy efficiency solutions is the part of it you can’t see – the lack of data interoperability between various components. Europe is struggling to ensure smart energy efficiency is truly interconnected.
The election of a new government in Poland has enabled this Central European country to revive its ambitions in terms of energy transition and to meet European targets.
The cities of Amsterdam, Stockholm and Nantes offer good examples of how meaningful progress towards decarbonising the building sector can be achieved, while advancing the EU's broader climate objectives, writes Irene García.
The US and Saudi Arabia have reduced investment in oil and gas supply, putting consuming countries in front of their responsibilities by forcing them to act and deliver on their COP28 pledges, writes Thierry Bros.
In the space of just one month, the European Commission has approved more than €8 billion in French state aid to decarbonise industry and develop renewable energies, according to EU figures released this week.
At COP28, international leaders once again fell short of embracing energy efficiency targets, representing perhaps the biggest missed opportunity of the decade. Meet energy efficiency, the magical millions of hard-to-grasp levers that allow us to do more while consuming less energy. …
Lack of finance remains the most frequently reported reason why building owners don’t upgrade their homes to a more energy-efficient one. Peter Sweatman lists five “hidden gems” in the recast EU Buildings Directive which can deliver this.
China did the world “a big favour” by bringing down the cost of clean technologies like solar panels, said Fatih Birol, the chief of the International Energy Agency (IEA). But with increased economic clout also comes responsibility, he told Euractiv ahead of the COP28 international climate summit in Dubai.
Germany’s residential grid operators will be empowered to restrict the flow of power to heat pumps and electric vehicle (EV) chargers from 2024 in order to preserve the stability of the grid, which is suffering from chronic underinvestment.
The thinking around energy efficiency is still stuck in the fossil fuel era, says Sofie Irgens. We must move on from focusing on fuel economy and ramp up discussions on electrification, flexibility and reducing demand, she argues.
New data shows the urgency to renovate buildings across Europe, writes Oliver Rapf.
Portugal must reduce energy support measures as soon as possible this year and next, according to a European Commission report published on Tuesday, highlighting Portugal’s limited progress in implementing the Commission’s budgetary recommendation.
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) provides an essential gateway for citizen participation in the energy system, bringing cheaper bills to low-income households through old-fashioned energy efficiency, writes Louise Sunderland.
Only 16 EU countries have met a June deadline to submit updated National Energy and Climate Plans to the European Commission for the period running up to 2030 – and none of them are fully compliant with the EU’s latest energy efficiency goals, according to a new report.
A reform of the European electricity market is needed to give small consumers access to continuous, more affordable energy that is as carbon-free as possible. The introduction, for example, of a mechanism that removes from the mix carbon-free power plants that are too costly, will help reduce prices for customers, writes Thierry Bros.
The European Commission is ramping up industry reporting obligations in order to ensure the EU meets its stated goal of making data centres climate neutral by 2030.
European companies are among world leaders in energy saving solutions and are ideally positioned to reap the benefits of climate action, but they feel ignored by Brussels, which left aside the EU’s multi-billion energy efficiency sector in its recent Net-Zero Industry Act.
To meet its EU targets, France will need to triple its use of renewable power and reduce its energy consumption by a third by 2035, France’s electricity grid operator RTE said in its 2030-2035 energy outlook.
