According to a manifesto prepared by a coalition of NGOs and backed by a group of cross-party MEPs, the EU building sector is going to play the pivotal role in trying to achieve European energy efficiency targets. The paper entitled ‘Cool Products, Warm Homes Manifesto’, notes how the building sector consumes as much energy as the transport sector in the EU, and that gaps and inconsistencies in existing legislation, are undermining EU efforts to make energy savings.

‘Europe needs to massively boost its efforts to reduce energy demand for heating and cooling buildings, including long awaited minimum efficiency requirements for boilers, water heaters, and air conditioners’ according to Edouard Toulouse of ECOS, one of the NGOs involved in the project.

The manifesto therefore supports the EU in making the goal of improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020 legally binding, but also urges the European Commission to set more ambitious goals for the building sector. It also urges future policies that ensure that only the greenest heating and cooling products reach the market are implemented, and calls for the establishment of more coherent legislation to help achieve these targets.

MEPs including GLOBE EU member Peter Liese have endorsed the manifesto, which you can read by following the instructions on this link.