Open letter to EU Energy Ministers: energy price rises, renovate buildings to protect consumers

Ahead of their meeting on 26 October 2021 on the European Commission’s “toolbox” of measures against rising energy prices, the Renovate Europe Campaign wrote to the Energy Ministers of the EU Member States, calling on them to prioritise the energy renovation of buildings to protect consumers.

The EU imported nearly 61% of its energy needs in 2019, and buildings account for 40% of energy demand, with more than 97% of the building stock below the A-level grading. The truly sustainable answer to rising prices is to cut energy demand through deep renovation: with technologies readily available, the energy demand of the EU building stock can be reduced by 80%.