EBRD announces new energy efficiency phase of its Sustainable Energy Initiative

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced on May 18th that it is stepping up investments to improve energy efficiency and address climate change via new investment in projects worth up to €25 billion over the next three years, under the new phase of the Bank’s Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI). Building on the … Continue reading EBRD announces new energy efficiency phase of its Sustainable Energy Initiative →

Short Takes

Important Comment On May 15th, at an event on Energy Efficient Buildings and Districts: Research to Accelerate Innovation at the European Economic and Social Committee, Ms. Silvia-Adriana, MEP and former rapporteur for the recast of the buildings directive said: “Energy efficiency is important for each household and not just for the European Union. We need … Continue reading Short Takes →

May Day . . . May Day . . . is complexity killing caring?

In the words of Bill Gates, “ The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity.” They are words that ring true in Europe in the context of approval of a new Energy Efficiency Directive. There is no doubt that Europeans care about climate change and improving energy efficiency. But … Continue reading May Day . . . May Day . . . is complexity killing caring? →

Reports from the European Environment Agency

The European Environment Agency has come out with a couple of very interesting and important reports recently. * Do we live in a 'green economy'? New report assesses progress in Europe Despite progress in some areas, Europe must do more to create the 'green economy' needed for the continent to become sustainable, according to … Continue reading Reports from the European Environment Agency →

Congratulations to EEIP

EiD would like to congratulate our colleagues at Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes for being shortlisted for the Sustainable Energy Europe Awards 2012 category for communicating: http://www.eusew.eu/awards-competition. EEIP is just over one year old and already has over 10,000 following them on various social networking platforms. EEIP has free membership and unique balance of B2B … Continue reading Congratulations to EEIP →

New study on the macroeconomic benefits of energy efficiency

The report, ‘The Macroeconomic Benefits of Energy efficiency: The case for public action’ by E3G, an independent not-for-profit organisation in the UK, argues the current UK and wider European focus on austerity combined with structural reforms will not be enough to drive economic recovery in the short term. A second round of stimulus packages looks … Continue reading New study on the macroeconomic benefits of energy efficiency →

New study related to energy efficiency obligations

At a time of heated debate around the merits of energy efficiency obligations within the draft Energy Efficiency Directive, a new report by the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) and eceee “Determining Energy Savings for Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes” provides a no-nonsense set of guidelines for determining energy savings under such schemes. Based on a detailed … Continue reading New study related to energy efficiency obligations →

Key figures from the European wind industry

The European Wind Energy Association released its new “Green Growth” report on the opening day of the EWEA 2012 Annual Event in Copenhagen on 16 April. The report is available at the EWEA website. Key figures from the report released include: The wind energy sector contributed €32 billion to EU GDP in 2010 The sector’s … Continue reading Key figures from the European wind industry →

Employment impacts from retrofitting Poland’s buildings

Central European University in Budapest has just published Employment Impacts of a Large-Scale Deep Building Energy Retrofit Programme in Poland. The report was funded by the European Climate Foundation. The research demonstrates that up to 84% of energy used to heat Polish buildings, and corresponding CO 2 emissions – can be avoided by a wide-spread … Continue reading Employment impacts from retrofitting Poland’s buildings →

Guidance document on cost optimality

The EiD post of March 23rd stated that on Wednesday, March 21st, the European Parliament and the Council published a comparative methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements for buildings and building elements. This was required under the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Guidelines as intended by Annex … Continue reading Guidance document on cost optimality →