Solidarity and energy resilience: an action plan to save energy now! Beyond immediate efforts, Europe needs to take strategic actions to reduce our dependency on energy imports from Russia and other non-EU countries. The action must avoid quick fixes which might pose similar future risks. Finding alternative energy supply might be necessary and acceptable with a short time perspective but cannot be proposed as a lasting solution.
A longer-term and strategic perspective would speed up the transformation to domestic renewable energy supply, and drastically reduce the EU’s dependency on imported fossil fuels.
To decrease energy import dependency, European governments, businesses and citizens have the opportunity to reduce energy demand very quickly. With this paper, BPIE is presenting suggestions to reduce energy consumption in buildings with measures which have a short-term effect.
Behaviour changes such as lowering the room temperature by a degree or two, switching off appliances which are not urgently needed and leaving the car in the garage are ad hoc contributions available to almost everyone and are an immediate signal of solidarity with the victims of Putin’s aggression. In the long term, individual actions must be replaced by a clever far-sighted EU plan to structurally reduce energy demand.
Our list of suggestions are divided into different categories (projects/campaigns, financing, regulation) and three time horizons – actions that can be rolled out in the next 6 months, in 3 years, and in 5 years. All these types of measures are needed if the EU is to decrease its energy import dependency in the long run and boost its resilience.
BPIE (Buildings Performance Institute Europe) is a leading independent think tank on energy performance of buildings. Our vision is a climate-neutral built environment, aligned with the ambition of the Paris Agreement, and in support of a fair and sustainable society.
We provide data-driven and actionable policy analysis, advice, and implementation support to decision-makers in Europe and globally.
– BYinnovation is Media Partner of BPIE