EU Climate Resilience Framework: efficient buildings are our first line of defence

This summer offered yet another reminder that Europe’s building stock is not prepared for increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves. According to the European Environment Agency, more than 38% of surveyed Europeans cannot afford to keep their homes adequately cool, and that figure rises to 66% among those experiencing financial difficulties.

The European Commission’s new EU Climate Resilience Framework, presented on 27 October, is therefore a welcome step towards better anticipating and preparing for the impacts of climate change.

What it means for buildings

Several initiatives are particularly relevant to the buildings sector:

• The proposed European Climate Resilience Law, which explicitly includes buildings in climate risk assessments and national resilience planning towards 2030.
• The introduction of “resilience by design” as a guiding principle for EU policies. Including it in the proposed new public procurement rules was a good example of how to do this.
• The upcoming European Heatwave Plan and the EU Action Plan for Energy-Efficient Cooling and Heating, expected in 2027, alongside the European Water Initiative addressing water efficiency, reuse, and drought and flood resilience.

The challenge now is to translate these ambitions into improvements in Europe’s buildings.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive already provides an important foundation, including provisions addressing overheating and adaptation to climate change. Its implementation offers a key opportunity to systematically integrate climate resilience into national renovation plans, building requirements and investment decisions.

Resilience and decarbonisation go hand in hand

Making buildings more resilient does not have to come at the expense of Europe’s decarbonisation objectives. Quite the opposite.

Smart design, solar shading, efficient windows, better insulation, smart building controls and efficient, decarbonised heating and cooling solutions can improve indoor comfort, reduce energy consumption and limit peak electricity demand during heatwaves, strengthening the resilience of both buildings and the wider energy system.

“Energy-efficient and decarbonised heating and cooling solutions in buildings already exist. The renewed political momentum on climate resilience should be used to accelerate their deployment at scale”, said Rémi Collombet, Secretary General of Efficient Buildings Europe.

Accelerating their deployment will require the right financing and policy framework. The upcoming social climate plans, the next MFF and accompanying initiatives on insurance and valuation should provide the right support and signals to building owners and investors alike.

Making Europe’s buildings more energy-efficient and making them climate-resilient should go hand in hand. The solutions are available. Now we need to put them to work.

Read our response to the Commission’s call for evidence on European climate resilience and risk management and watch our webinar Climate Resilience: how to adapt cities and buildings?