“If you look at the building stock, around 75% to 80% is old and needs renovation…If we don’t bring down our greenhouse gas emissions, we are screwed.”
Invested by Europe explores the forces shaping the European economy. In each episode, we hear from experts tackling the most pressing challenges—from housing and energy to innovation and infrastructure, security and defence. We look at what’s changing, what the solutions are, and how Europe is investing in its future.
What this episode is about
Energy consumption in Europe’s building sector remains high, largely because much of the building stock is old and inefficient. Improving energy efficiency is essential to cutting energy demand and supporting Europe’s transition to a low-carbon economy. But progress is slow – only 1.5% of buildings are renovated each year, and many of these renovations are not deep enough to deliver significant energy savings. ‑carbon economy.
In this episode of the Invested by Europe podcast, we explore:
- why accelerating energy efficiency in buildings matters
- what is holding renovations back
- how investment, technology and public support can help overcome these barriers.
In this episode, our expert looks at how energy efficiency cuts demand for electricity, enables greater use of renewable energy, and delivers lower costs and improved comfort for citizens.
The conversation in brief
Buildings account for a significant share of Europe’s energy consumption. That’s largely because the existing building stock is ageing and poorly insulated. In this episode of the Invested by Europe podcast, we discuss:
- why energy efficiency measures are crucial to bringing down energy demand
- why the current pace of renovation is not sufficient
- how to increase the level of investment
- how to get financing for your own energy efficiency renovation.
The conversation highlights how improving energy efficiency can reduce overall electricity demand, making it easier for Europe to rely on renewable energy sources. This shift also requires changes in technical systems, including a wider rollout of solutions such as heat pumps. Digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, are enablers, particularly in planning renovation projects, processing applications, and monitoring and controlling building systems more efficiently.
Financing is a challenge. While municipalities often provide support for citizens and commercial banks can offer loans, smaller energy efficiency investments are less attractive to banks due to their size and relative administrative complexity. The episode explains how the European Investment Bank helps address this gap by:
- providing funding to commercial banks to expand lending for energy efficiency
- offering technical assistance to help prepare and structure renovation projects for homeowners, SMEs and public authorities.
Key takeaways
- Energy efficiency in buildings is one of Europe’s fastest routes to lower energy demand, but the current renovation rate is far too slow and often not ambitious enough to deliver deep, lasting savings.
- Public investment and support can unlock private action, by strengthening banks’ capacity to finance smaller energy efficiency projects and by providing technical assistance to help households, SMEs and municipalities turn renovation plans into reality.‑efficiency projects and by providing technical assistance to help households, SMEs and municipalities turn renovation plans into reality.
- The biggest potential for the use of artificial intelligence in energy efficiency is in the processing and planning of renovation projects and in monitoring and controlling the technology of building systems.
About the guest
Daniela Bachner
An energy sector expert in the Environmental Advisory division of the European Investment Bank Group. Daniela works on advisory and lending operations in energy efficiency. Her main role is to guide projects, which receive grants from the ELENA facility (ELENA – European Local ENergy Assistance), a joint initiative of the European Investment Bank and the European Commission. She is an engineer and has worked as a project advisor at the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and as an energy efficiency consultant.
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