"We want to make private homes & public buildings more energy efficient & comfortable across Europe. That’s why we are launching today a European Renovation Wave. This will help us reach our climate targets. It will create new jobs & it will reduce energy bills for citizens," EC President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.
The aim is to double the energy efficiency of buildings in the next 10 years. A total of 35 million buildings in the EU could be renovated by 2030 and create an additional 160,000 "green" jobs in the construction sector.
About 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse emissions in the EU come from buildings. Currently only one percent of buildings are renovated a year and it is necessary to accelerate renovation.
In order to achieve a reduction in emissions of at least 55% by 2030 that the EC recommended in September 2020, the EU has to reduce its greenhouse emissions from buildings by 60%, their energy consumption by 14% and energy consumption for heating and cooling by 18%.
Europe's policies and financial resources have already positively impacted the energy efficiency of new buildings that consume only half the energy compared to buildings built over 20 years ago. However, 85% of the buildings in the EU are more than 20 years old and it is expected that their number will remain at 85% or 95% by 2050.
One of the main aims is to reduce energy poverty. The Commission said adding that almost 34 million Europeans cannot afford heating for their own homes.