The European parliament last week approved a new law that requires member states to push the renovation of buildings to make them more energy-efficient and reduce the EU’s carbon emissions.
370 members of the European Parliament voted in favour of the bill, while 199 opposed and 46 abstained.
The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive or EPBD, sets a pathway to a climate neutral building stock in Europe by 2050. It aims to modernise Europe’s building stock by introducing Minimum Energy Performance Standards or MEPS to progressively improve energy performance over time.
Buildings currently account for 40% of the European Union’s energy use, and most are heated by fossil fuels. The new rules will lead to the upgrade of buildings to use less energy – a move that also aims to wean countries off Russian gas faster and cut households’ bills
The new law was negotiated by Irish MEP Ciarán Cuffe, and in this week’s episode he outlines the benefits of the new law.
