Activities of Jutta PAULUS related to 2020/2070(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on maximising the energy efficiency potential of the EU’s building stock
Amendments (16)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the announcement of a renovation wave as part of the European Green Deal; highlights that a highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stock should be achieved through significantly reducing energy demand, while covering any residual demand with renewable energy in order to ensure alignment with the objective of limiting global warming to under 1.5oC; urges the Commission to present ithe renovation wave strategy as planned, given that it is a key element of the post- COVID-19 recovery plan; reminds the Commission that it must be accompanied by concrete legislative action, adequate funds, and gender-balanced skill building programs targeting also young people; calls on the Member States to step up integrated large- scale deep renovation plans under the national energy and climate plans (NCEPs) and to submit their long-term renovation strategies (LTRSs) as a matter of urgency; demands that ambition levels in strategies and plans are regularly reviewed upwards to keep track of environmental, climate and technology developments;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points at good practices in Member States using ETS revenues for building renovation programs and calls on the Commission to study the feasibility of requiring all Member States using ETS revenues for increasing energy efficiency in buildings, including safeguarding mechanisms against fluctuations, as well as to examine the feasibility of earmarking a portion of the auctioning revenue at EU level for such purposes 1a; expresses concern about the idea to include building emissions in the EU ETS, as such proposals casts doubt regarding cost effectiveness, could take the responsibility away from public action and lead to higher energy bills for citizen; _________________ 1a"Carbon leverage: Investing Europe’s carbon revenues in energy efficiency", Catharina Wiese, Richard Cowart, and Jan Rosenow of Regulatory Assistance project 2018
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls on the incoming German Council presidency to promote integrated building renovations and their co-benefits alongside the new Leipzig Charta to help EU economies recover, notably SMEs, and to provide all citizen with affordable, comfortable and high-performing homes and access to renewable energy;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the Commission’s new Circular Economy Action Plan which highlights the role of construction and building materials in generating over 35 % of the EU’s total waste; notes that a streamlined approach should be taken in EU legislation to recovery, recycling, life- cycle assessment and to taking the embodied energy stresses the importance of taking durability, recyclability, content of hazardous substances and embodied energy in building materials into account; Underlines that an optimal management and use of water, waste, energy and material resources is needed during all stages of the life-cycle of new and existing building materials into accous and calls on the Commission to consider these aspects in the upcoming Strategy for the Built Environment;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that a circular economy labelling system, based on environmental standards and criteria for materials linked to their potential for uncomplicated and low-energy reintroduction into the value chain, should be establishedespecially taking into account the role of secondary raw materials but also hazardous substances, should be established; underlines the role of Eco- Design and green public procurement for sustainable products to boost resource and energy efficiency;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Acknowledges the potential of certified wood as carbon sink from a climate perspective and as a sustainable building material substituting carbon- intensive materials; underlines that both, wood as construction material and as biomass in energy production should only be exploited in the limits of sustainable availability;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Underlines that the uptake of sustainable and innovative construction materials requires the development of harmonised standards creating a single market for these products; calls for an urgent review of the Construction Products Regulation to that end;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that dumping of waste is illegal and that there is no common EU legislation on the management of bulky waste in general, and of polystyrene and stone wool in particularbut recyclable waste such as stone wool; expresses its concern about the safe handling of insulation materials, given the possible inclusion of dangerous substances in them such as polystyrene, during demolition as well as in waste treatment, given the possible inclusion of dangerous substances in them that put a threat to the non-toxic environment; calls for effective waste management and disposal;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Notes that deep building renovation projects should contribute to the potential fors to achieve highly energy efficient buildings contribute to better health conditions; emphasises that the revision of air quality standards can lead to improvements in indoor environmental conditions andand the replacement of wood and coal stoves and other fossil fuel based heating with efficient, renewables-based and non- polluting systems to cover residual energy demand, including heat - such as solar thermal energy -, leads to substantial improvements in environmental conditions, fewer respiratory and other diseases and in turn reduced societal health costs; Calls for the establishment of emission and pollution standards such as CO2, NOx, PM, for all heating and cooling systems through the Ecodesign Directive; underlines that access to highly energy efficient buildings, participation in community energy projects and the provision of effective and high performance equipment and appliances help tackle energy poverty;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Emphasises the potential of introducing harmonised minimum energy performance standards per building category, in terms of overcoming the current fragmentation in the market, ofas well as the for creating a common energy and environmental building passportbuilding renovation passport allowing to track continued improvement, to set up a renovation roadmap with a certified expert and providing individual recommendations for building improvement in order to reach the highest energy performance category, for example zero primary fossil fuel energy consumption; stresses further that it shcould also include environmental aspects such as the circular capacity of materials;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that home owners and housing associations should be supported in climate-proofmaking their building stock climate resilient through deep renovations, for example through grants or financial instruments based on the additionality offor projects fulfilling the additionality criteria of InvestEU within a revised multiannual financial framework (MFF) funding,, complemented by national budgets and private sector sources;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines the role of the European Investment Bank Group in providing loans, guarantees and financial instruments in order to finance small-scale, community based and social housing renovation initiatives and services.; stresses that especially smaller and medium size projects need better advisory support and project aggregation and thus require increased technical assistance capacities;
Amendment 117 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that the opportunity to create climate-positive buildings through deep renovations combined with the installation of solar panels at roofs and facades should not be missed; suggests that industrial capacities for innovative building materials and systems - such as off-site prefabricated panels, building integrated photovoltaics, ice storage, solar chimneys - should be further promoted via the research and skills funds, as they help to provide integrated solutions to accelerate large scale renovations;
Amendment 125 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Highlights that especially cities will be increasingly subject to higher temperatures in the summer due to climate change; asks the Commission to incorporate incentives for greener buildings such as green roofs and green facades in the renovation wave as they improve the micro-climate, allow to save energy and help to restore the natural water cycle;
Amendment 127 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to include additional biodiversity features such as nesting aids for birds and bats, semi-natural and urban gardens in their strategies in order to protect biodiversity, support food supply, strengthen resilience and reduce emissions;
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Stresses that integrated renovation programmes for district renovations with a holistic plan for a social, climate- friendly, biodiversity-supporting development of a whole district has positive impacts on the financial and environmental footprint as works and logistics can be pooled; underlines that their development and implementation needs to be promoted by one-stop-shops for information, advise and capacity building at local, regional and national level, such as environmental and energy agencies;