London 12 December 2024 – A first-of-its-kind digital EU Building Policy Tracker, launched today, provides an comprehensive overview of where built environment policy has made advances towards decarbonising buildings by 2050. Developed by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) under its Europe-wide #BuildingLife project, this resource showcases regulatory progress and identifies gaps the new European Commission must address to decarbonise EU buildings.
New EU Building Policy Tracker unveils climate progress and critical gaps
- The World Green Building Council reveals both the EU’s progress on building regulation – as well as the policy gaps that could put its climate targets at risk.
- The tracker reveals some progress on 2030 decarbonisation targets for buildings but urges for more progress on longer term circularity and sustainable finance policies.
- Designed to support the new European Commission, the tracker helps identify where urgent and priority action is needed.
The tracker builds upon the recent political momentum which is galvanising the sustainable built environment. At European level, an example is the ambitious revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), and, on a global scale, countries will now be working to update their national climate action plans (NDCs), which are due in February 2025 under the Paris Agreement.
As mapped out in the tracker, particularly notable gaps which remain for the EU include longer term renovation targets, circularity of the built environment and how finance is channelled towards sustainable building practices. It monitors the recommendations put forward by WorldGBC in 2022 as part of its EU Policy Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, a policy plan which is designed to help the EU accelerate total decarbonisation of the building and construction sector.