Climate Positive Europe Alliance (CPEA)

CPEA Secretary General Ursula Hartenberger recently spoke at the European Sustainable Energy Week #EUSEW2024 in the session "How the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is driving renovation for all". Hosted by the Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER) and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), the session brought together those who negotiated the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) with stakeholders who will work on the practical aspects of its implementation. As private interests and private finance will be key factors in the coming years, Ursula Hartenberger provided insights from CPEA members on how they see the EPBD responding to the needs of the private and financial sectors and what supporting mechanisms need to be put in place. She emphasised the need for rapid development of national trajectories and for clarity and cross-border comparability of nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs)/zero emission buildings (ZEBs) and minimum energy performance (MEP) definitions. She also called for compatibility with key legislative initiatives on sustainable finance, in particular the EU taxonomy, and for the introduction of digital building logbooks and centralised energy performance certificate (EPC) databases across Europe. The fellow panellists shared their experiences of existing policies and projects on the ground in terms of ◾bringing together different actors (citizens, contractors and finance) to harvest the potential of data sharing ◾national implementation of the EPBD and the creation of public finance for citizens and businesses ◾encouraging the creation of one-stop shops and integrated renovation services ➡ You can watch a recording of the session here: https://lnkd.in/er3DiJU3

Recently, the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) published a report on the impact of climate action on equality and social justice in eight cities: Lagos, Prague, Lisbon, Melbourne, Copenhagen, Jakarta, Valparaíso and Athens. The report highlights green initiatives that address both climate change and social issues, but also shows how decarbonisation can exacerbate inequality through issues such as 'renovictions' and 'green gentrification'. The report also highlights successful collaborations to ensure that marginalised groups aren't disproportionately affected by the green transition, and recommends policy changes for a just transition. #CPEA welcomes and endorses this report by the IHRB as CPEA's vision for the built environment is as much about the environment as it is about economic viability and people, and ensuring that no-one is left behind as Europe decarbonises. The report's findings are very timely with the publication of the recast EPBD and the discussion around minimum energy performance standards, and complement CPEA's own work on social value creation as reflected in our 2023 ESG report. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eFqg8WJK

Too much water - too little water: Successfully addressing water resilience at city level As part of the #EUGreenWeek, CPEA is organising a digital partner event on 📅 4 July from 13:00 to 14:00 (CEST). The event will focus on how cities can reduce the likelihood of floods and their devastating effects and manage water scarcity with the right strategic planning and integrated measures. #WaterWiseEU Ursula Hartenberger (Secretary General, CPEA) will open the event and set the scene for the ensuing discussions. Participants can then look forward to two short expert presentations: ◾"Dealing with too much water – examples of successful strategies and master planning for integrated urban flood water management" Speaker: Gerhard Hauber (Landscape Architect, Executive Partner, Henning Larsen) ◾"Addressing water scarcity and drought in the Barcelona metropolitan area" Speakers: Dina Alsawi (Agricultural engineer, Head of Parks Service of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB)) and Cati Montserrat Martí (Agronomic engineer, Head of the Green Engineering and Biodiversity Section at the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB)) The following panel discussion is moderated by Bruno Sauer (CEO, Green Building Council España, Vice-Chair, CPEA). There will be also time for questions from the audience. Participation is free of charge. We are looking forward to an exciting event! Find out more: https://lnkd.in/ebvHqX6F Register directly: https://lnkd.in/eXc9C4AM

The Buildings and Climate Global Forum was recently held in Paris. It was a ground-breaking event at which we, the #CPEA Climate Positive Europe Alliance, were represented by many of our members. The Déclaration de Chaillot, which is supported by 70 countries, and the Buildings Breakthrough, which was presented at #COP28 in Dubai, are activities that we expressly support with our network. As European green or sustainable building councils we have been advocating precisely these issues for many years.   The recommendation developed at the Global Forum that countries should work together, aiming to align certification scheme with net zero and resilient requirements, is also something that we as CPEA partners strongly support and have actively practised for many years.   We actively offer our support and experience at national and international level to implementing these activities. #BuildForClimate #BuildingsBreakthrough Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) UN Environment Programme