Article date:15 May 2010
Written by:Jose Espinosa
The European Union has agreed a mandate which will ensure all
new buildings constructed after 2020 are virtually carbon
neutral.
Annie Brown, low carbon buildings manager at Sustain, says:
"Buildings account for around 36 per cent of the EU's greenhouse
gases and these new standards are expected to reduce energy bills
and improve energy security.
"At Sustain, our low carbon buildings team advises developers on
how to meet and exceed environmental standards in buildings so we
are well placed to help guide people through the process as new
European legislation emerges."
Public buildings in the European Union will be the first to meet
the new standards with legislation kicking in after 2018. New homes
and offices will follow two years later.
The European Parliament had originally proposed that from 2018,
all new buildings must reduce their carbon footprint to zero, but
European governments said that was too ambitious so the plan was
scaled back.
Annie continued: "The UK currently has targets that are more
challenging than the European targets with all new homes to be zero
carbon by 2016 and all new public buildings by 2018.
"We hope the new government sticks to these so that the UK can
reap the rewards of becoming a leader in this field."
