For a cross-sectoral holistic financing and delivering of the European Renovation Wave
The Greens Co-President Bernd Voss and Greens member Ufuk Kâhya called for a cross-sectoral holistic approach that provides the right impetus to achieve the European Renovation Wave‘s transformation goals. They elaborated on their positions in the debate on the ‘European Green Deal – Financing and Delivering the Renovation Wave in Regions, Cities and Villages’ during the Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions on 18 March with Kadri Simson, EU Commissioner for Energy.
Currently, buildings in the EU are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions, which mainly stem from construction, usage, renovation and demolition. Harmful fossil fuel subsidies and the lack of energy taxes are barriers to carbon-neutrality. According to Bernd Voss, the costs of fossil fuels need to rise and money has to be saved in other areas. Therefore, improving energy efficiency in buildings and supporting renewable energy generation play a key role in achieving the goal of carbon-neutrality by 2050, as set out in the European Green Deal.
In 2018, 34 million Europeans reported an inability to keep their homes adequately warm. In a survey conducted in 2019, 6.9% of the EU population said that they cannot afford to heat their home sufficiently. Until buildings increase their energy performance and people in the EU receive the necessary financial support to heat their households, Bernd Voss believes that these statistics will not change. Greens member Ufuk Kâhya supported this call and further underlined that high renovation costs present barriers to financially disadvantaged groups. Thus, Bernd Voss as well as Ufuk Kâhya called for the mobilisation of financing, in particular at local and regional level, for the renovation of the buildings these groups live in.
In his intervention, Bernd Voss further focussed on other relevant factors needed to make the European Renovation Wave a success: ‘There is a need for skills development schemes focusing on the education and training of craftspeople and other on-site workers in the field of construction. Furthermore, resource consumption of the building sector has to be re-evaluated and circular economy principles need to be adopted.’ In addition, Bernd Voss stated that energy sustainability in villages and cities can be achieved via building renovation and the integration of renewable energy. A support scheme including consultancy and funds could assist regions, cities and villages in performing their key roles in ensuring high-quality supply chains of renovations and establishing synergies. Beyond that, financing schemes have to include environment and climate protection among their objectives. Finally, access to direct funds for regions, cities and villages is key for a successful realisation of the European Renovation Wave.