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European Green Deal: Fit for 55 by 2030!
| Jaap HogelingEditor-in-ChiefREHVA Journal |
The European Commission adopted a package of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. Achieving these emission reductions in the next decade is crucial to Europe becoming the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and making the European Green Deal (https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en) a reality. With these proposals, the Commission is presenting the legislative tools to deliver on the targetsagreed in the European Climate Law and fundamentally transform our economy and society for a fair, green and prosperous future. (see article of Jasper Vermaut, REHVA, page 63).
EU Commissioner for energy Kadri Simson said: The revision of the Renewable Energy Directive is a key part of today’s package, which outlines how we intend to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030. By 2050, most of our energy has to come from renewable sources. Planning and building energy infrastructure takes time, so to get to net zero by mid-century, we need an unprecedented transformation during this decade already. The steady renewables evolution of recent years and decades must become a revolution. Renewable electricity is by now the cheapest option in many places. And often, it’s European companies and European technology providing that green power. By pushing our 2030 renewables target to 40%, we are not only promoting cleaner and cheaper energy production, we are also boosting an economic sector with remarkable potential to create jobs, growth and trade. Today’s proposal is looking to further accelerate the rise of renewables, providing additional incentives for improvement where progress is slow, such as in buildings or transport, but also introducing greater flexibility in our energy system which will serve to facilitate new technologies, such as renewable hydrogen, and the smooth integration of offshore renewables into the grid. |
Focus on Heat Pump technology
After renovating our building stock to reduce the heating and cooling demand applying Heat Pump technology to heat (space and DHW) and cool our buildings is the most logic step. For new buildings: NZEB, zero carbon and positive energy buildings are feasible, even in those cases the use of HP’s will play an important role. For sure these investments are assuming that towards 2050 our electricity grids will be to a great extent decarbonised. This RJ issue includes several articles on Heat Pump technology, in the first article we explain the complexity around standards on HP technology.
A Paradigm Shift
As the COVID-19 pandemic is still on the frontpages we also included an article with the title:“A Paradigm Shift, are technical systems for ventilation important for public health? Or are they primarily designed to create comfort for occupants? What are the objectives and what are the means?”. Given the nature of this article and the intention to generate a feedback and dispute based on this article, your editor has with some help added some footnotes to stimulate reactions. In this context it is important to know that the REHVA TRC installed a Task Force “IEQ requirements – input for revising EN 16798-1”, illustrating the interest of REHVA in addressing IEQ.