The topic of the climate crisis is taking centre stage in the European and global debate, and the first evidence of its effects can already be seen in many parts of the continent: intense and protracted droughts, a decline in biodiversity, meteorological phenomena with ever-intensifying intensity, and temperature increases compared to seasonal averages. Human activity, which releases greenhouse gasses and leads the atmosphere to retain heat, is the crisis's primary source. The European Union has long been aware of the impact that human activity and various economic sectors have on the environment, and it has gradually adopted rules and programs to try to minimize as much as possible the amount of emissions of gases that affect the climate at the European level. Among all the sectors considered, the building sector accounts for 36% of the annual emissions of greenhouse gases in Europe (Hywel, 2017) and has long been the subject of debate and regulatory tools to limit its impact. The energy used to run buildings is a significant factor in climate change, in addition to this, over the past 18 months, Europe has suffered an energy crisis caused by global conflicts scenarios that revealed the vulnerability of the continent’s energy supply system. Thus, energy saving in construction becomes strategically important for 2 reasons: the first is the fight against climate change, and the second is the pursuit of energy independence. In response to this situation, the European Union has, for over twenty years, adopted instruments to drive the improvement of energy performance of the buildings. The goal of the thesis is to review the methods for regulating the energy performance of buildings in European Union with the aim of pointing out the measurable effects resulting from the implementation of the first EPBD (Energy Performance of Building Directive) directive in 2002. The objective is to assess the impact that directive 2002/91, and its subsequent revisions, has had on the European territory with regards to the issue of energy saving in the building sector. The thesis was essentially developed through a analysis of the literature and data available on the subject and the outcome was a systematization of the information on the effectiveness of the EPBD which then made it possible to discuss the prospects for changes that are being implemented with the fourth revision of the EPBD.
Il tema della crisi climatica sta sempre più guadagnando un posto centrale nei dibattiti europei e globali, le prime conseguenze de suoi effetti sono già visibili in diverse parti del continente: intensi e prolungati periodi di siccità, perdita di biodiversità, fenomeni metereologici di intensità sempre maggiori e temperature più alte se paragonate alle medie stagionali. Le attività antropiche, che rilasciano in atmosfera gas effetto serra che trattiene calore in atmosfera, sono la principale fonte della crisi climatica. L’Unione Europea è da tempo consapevole dell’impatto delle attività appartenenti ai vari settori economici sull’ambiente ed ha gradualmente adottato normative e programmi nel tentativo di minimizzare il più possibile la quantità di emissioni di gas clima-alteranti a livello europeo. Su tutti i settori presi in considerazione quello edilizio è responsabile del 36% delle emissioni annue totali dell’unione europea ed è stato per lungo tempo il soggetto di dibattiti e di tentativi di regolazione al fine di limitare il suo impatto sull’ambiente (Hywel, 2017). L’energia che un edificio utilizza per compiere le sue funzioni è un fattore significativo sotto il profilo del cambiamento climatico, a questo si aggiunge la crisi energetica che ha investito il continente da 18 mesi, conseguenza degli scenari di conflitto internazionali, che ha dimostrato la fragilità della rete di approvvigionamento energetico europeo. Il risparmio di energia nel settore edilizio diventa quindi un tema strategico per due motivi: la lotta al cambiamento climatico e la conquista dell’indipendenza energetica. In risposta a questa situazione, l’Unione Europea ha, da oltre 20 anni, adottato misure per guidare il miglioramento delle performance energetiche degli edifici. Lo scopo della tesi è quello di analizzare i metodi utilizzati per regolare le performance energetiche degli edifici in Unione Europea con il fine di evidenziare gli effetti misurabili derivati dall’attuazione della prima direttiva EPBD (Energy Performance of Building Directive) nel 2002. L’obiettivo è quello di valutare l’impatto che la direttiva 2002/91/CE, e le sue revisioni, hanno avuto sul territorio europeo in merito al tema del risparmio energetico in edilizia. La tesi è sviluppata essenzialmente attraverso un’analisi della letteratura e dei dati disponibili sull’argomento e ne scaturisce una sistematizzazione delle informazioni sull’efficacia della EPBD che ha poi permesso di discutere le prospettive di cambiamento che si stanno attuando ora con la quarta revisione della EPBD.
Energy performance of building directive: evaluation and effectiveness after 20 years
Carnevali, Silvia Eleonora
2022/2023
Abstract
The topic of the climate crisis is taking centre stage in the European and global debate, and the first evidence of its effects can already be seen in many parts of the continent: intense and protracted droughts, a decline in biodiversity, meteorological phenomena with ever-intensifying intensity, and temperature increases compared to seasonal averages. Human activity, which releases greenhouse gasses and leads the atmosphere to retain heat, is the crisis's primary source. The European Union has long been aware of the impact that human activity and various economic sectors have on the environment, and it has gradually adopted rules and programs to try to minimize as much as possible the amount of emissions of gases that affect the climate at the European level. Among all the sectors considered, the building sector accounts for 36% of the annual emissions of greenhouse gases in Europe (Hywel, 2017) and has long been the subject of debate and regulatory tools to limit its impact. The energy used to run buildings is a significant factor in climate change, in addition to this, over the past 18 months, Europe has suffered an energy crisis caused by global conflicts scenarios that revealed the vulnerability of the continent’s energy supply system. Thus, energy saving in construction becomes strategically important for 2 reasons: the first is the fight against climate change, and the second is the pursuit of energy independence. In response to this situation, the European Union has, for over twenty years, adopted instruments to drive the improvement of energy performance of the buildings. The goal of the thesis is to review the methods for regulating the energy performance of buildings in European Union with the aim of pointing out the measurable effects resulting from the implementation of the first EPBD (Energy Performance of Building Directive) directive in 2002. The objective is to assess the impact that directive 2002/91, and its subsequent revisions, has had on the European territory with regards to the issue of energy saving in the building sector. The thesis was essentially developed through a analysis of the literature and data available on the subject and the outcome was a systematization of the information on the effectiveness of the EPBD which then made it possible to discuss the prospects for changes that are being implemented with the fourth revision of the EPBD.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/208649