As signatories of the Paris Agreement, the United States and the have committed to society-wide decarbonization by 2050, and this was affirmed in February 2022 by the 9th US-EU Energy Council in Washington, where the US and EU pledged to base economic recovery on green and sustainable solutions. The European Union launched Next Generation EU to build a more sustainable, resilient and fairer Europe; the US Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad matches this focus and ambition.
Within this context, reducing the environmental footprint of the building stock is a monumental opportunity to create positive change. About one third of total greenhouse gas emissions in the US and Europe stem from buildings, and the economic and societal benefits of healthy, low carbon buildings are abundant. To tap into these benefits and reduce the environmental footprint of the building stock, the EU Renovation Wave Strategy aims to at least double renovation rates in the next ten years and make sure building retrofits lead to higher energy and resource efficiency. In the US, President Biden recently launched the National Building Performance Standards Coalition, a nationwide group of state and local governments that have committed to inclusively design and implement building performance policies and programs in their jurisdictions. The US Department of Energy also recently announced sweeping actions to power more American homes and buildings with cleaner, smarter, and more affordable energy services that sharply reduce buildings’ role in the climate crisis.
As part of the Strategic Partnerships for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPIPA), BPIE (Buildings Performance Institute Europe) hosted, in collaboration with the Institute for Market Transformation, the US Department of Energy, the US Department of Housing and Urban Planning, and the European Commission, a series of expert dialogues on energy and buildings aiming to strengthen transatlantic collaboration and exchange on climate mitigation and green recovery policies.
Bringing together over 700 stakeholders and decision-makers from the US and the EU, the dialogues demonstrated high interest to share best practice and intensify the trans-Atlantic exchange on energy and buildings policy.
Whether you’re actively involved or simply curious about US and EU energy and buildings policy, you’ve come to the right place. Discover the key outcomes of the US-EU exchange on building renovation and clean energy solutions in a few clicks and find out what stakeholders had to say about how the collaboration should continue.
