The number of weather-related deaths in Europe increases year after year. Extreme weather events such as deadly summer heatwaves and flash floods are becoming more common as the new climate reality takes hold. Additionally, rising living costs and fluctuating energy prices last year forced many households to choose between heating or eating, meaning many more households would fall into fuel poverty. The main causes include Europe’s inefficient building stock and heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
Spain is one of the most affected countries. Without going any further, last year this country recorded 11,324 deaths due to extreme heat, the second worst number in Europe (Italy was the worst with 18,010 deaths). We have just experienced the third heat wave and have surpassed record temperatures day after day.
In these circumstances, the main recommendation is to stay indoors, in addition to constant hydration, although the problem is that many Spanish households have difficulty keeping their homes at an appropriate temperature due to the characteristics of our buildings and cities. As extreme heatwaves become more common, fuel poverty goes beyond winter cold and now poses serious health risks in summer as adequate air conditioning and ventilation become less affordable.
Unfortunately, 80% of Spanish buildings are inefficient from an energy point of view, 5% more than the total number of inefficient buildings in the EU. The National Plan to Combat Energy Poverty noted that in Spain it is mainly lower income households and homes from the most vulnerable groups that suffer from this energy inefficiency.
On the other hand, figures published by Eurostat show that almost 8 million people in Spain were unable to keep their homes at an appropriate temperature last winter. Over the last three years, the proportion of households that could not enjoy thermal comfort in their homes increased from 10.9% to 17.1%, mainly due to inflation and the recent increase in the cost of living.
Despite millions of people living in inadequate housing conditions, there has been virtually no effort in the EU to develop and implement inclusive and ambitious housing improvement policies for decades. Households rely on outdated, inefficient and polluting heating systems that run on fossil fuels, leaving many households exposed to volatile energy prices. The poor quality of homes in terms of insulation and ventilation makes it difficult at best to seek shelter in the summer without resorting to expensive cooling systems. The continued use of fossil fuels is also exacerbating the climate crisis, which is the root cause of these deadly summer heatwaves.
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To address these issues, the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is a crucial starting point. The directive can be the catalyst for EU member states like Spain to take urgent action to decarbonise their buildings, increase their renovation rates and ensure that fossil fuel-based heating systems are replaced with renewable solutions as quickly as possible.
Heating and air conditioning are among the largest expenses in many households’ budgets. Therefore, adequate and sufficient national and EU funding must be allocated, with priority given to renovating the worst-performing houses and the lowest-income families. Subsidies for fossil fuel heating systems should be eliminated by 2024 at the latest, as they only maintain the fossil fuel machinery and hinder the transition to sustainable and renewable energy-based systems.
There are currently around 68 million gas boilers and 18 million oil boilers in residential buildings in the EU. Replacing 30 million gas and diesel boilers with new heat pumps would mean a 36% reduction in gas and diesel consumption in these buildings and a 28% reduction in their CO₂ emissions by 2030. To achieve this, public resources should be redirected from fossil fuels to improving energy efficiency, renovating buildings and houses and installing renewable heating and cooling technologies in the residential sector.
Better buildings today for a better life tomorrow
Reducing energy consumption and costs, creating healthier and more comfortable homes and dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions are the benefits that a deep wave of comprehensive renovations can bring across all EU Member States. These are long-term solutions to many of the current crises facing Europe.
Renovating Spanish buildings, especially residential buildings, requires efforts from both the private and public sectors. Governments and the private sector must join forces to increase the recruitment and training of skilled workers to carry out these wide-ranging renovations, ensure good working conditions, decent and direct employment opportunities, improve skills requirements and implement comprehensive educational initiatives to ensure a sufficient Supply of appropriately qualified and certified workers who can provide high-quality work. It is also the responsibility of governments to set ambitious and clear policy targets in their national energy and climate plans (NECPs).
Meanwhile, the tripartite debates between the EU institutions continue and we are now in the final phase of the review of the Buildings Directive. It is time for policymakers at national and EU levels to recognize the potential of a profound wave of holistic renewal to address the multiple crises facing Europe today. It is up to you to create a legal framework that prioritizes people and buildings in the worst condition, including financial support, technical assistance and solid social protection. We absolutely need a building guideline that is socially and ecologically fair.
Authors: Mónica Vidal Sánchez, renewable heating expert at CAN Europe. Andrea Jarabo Torrijos, Head of Communications and Advocacy at Provivienda.
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