The second 4i-TRACTION trimonthly Community of Experts Coffee Hour took place on Friday, June 24, 2022.

The discussion focused on the need to advance decarbonisation of the buildings sector to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian gas and oil. In the past weeks, EU climate negotiations of the Fit for 55 package have occurred in parallel with the EU’s response to Russia’s war, culminating in the release of the RePowerEU package. This package is designed to reduce EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

However, renovating homes and electrifying heat are critical in decreasing gas consumption in the buildings sector, and it remains to be seen whether REPowerEU will turn the tables. The EU’s progress on decarbonising buildings has been slow, and in the “Fit for 55” legislative process—a policy package designed to reduce European greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030— key policies meant to reduce gas consumption in the buildings sector face steep political challenges.

Experts from the Community discussed what recent developments on “Fit for 55” negotiations mean for decarbonising the buildings sector and whether REPowerEU can help to accelerate the process.

Initial inputs were provided by Andreas Graf, Senior Associate for EU Energy Policy, Agora Energiewende, and Femke de Jong, Project Manager for Heating, European Climate Foundation.

The slides are available for download.