EU Supports Green Builders with Energy Efficiency Plan

October 13, 2009

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Fifteen million European buildings need to undergo energy-efficient renovations over the next decade to cut energy use, along with the creation of green building programs to re-educate builders and architects to do the job, according to a draft report from the European Commission, reports Reuters.

The initiative is expected to generate energy savings equivalent to 37 million tons of oil, estimated at about $19.7 billion at today’s prices, according to Reuters.

The draft of the “energy efficiency action plan” obtained by Reuters indicates that the European Union is also considering a mandatory goal to cut energy use by a fifth over the next decade, creating about 2 million new jobs.

The proposal for a binding energy efficiency target is expected to spark a political battle in the EU, and will divert billions in EU funds into the hands of property developers while cutting business for traditional energy suppliers by about 11 percent, according to Reuters.

The strategy is aimed at helping the European Union cut carbon dioxide emissions and reducing the tens of billions of euros channeled overseas each year for oil and gas imports, reports Reuters.

The report also notes that it will launch a European Building Initiative that could also create an extra 300,000 direct jobs a year and around 1.1 million indirect jobs, particularly for builders, roofers, glaziers and other small businesses, according to Reuters.

The report also considers forcing homeowners to renovate the least eco-efficient buildings before putting them up for sale, how to measure national improvements in energy efficiency and whether all EU countries should take on equal energy reduction targets, reports Reuters.

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