A green transition for all? A structured assessment of the social considerations in the European sustainability requirements for buildings

Abstract

To fight against the climate change, the European Union (EU) has set new and ambitious climate goals, with significant focus going to buildings as one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Simultaneously, Europe is facing a housing crisis and the green transition will be costly, especially for low-income households. This study explored the inclusion of social considerations in the European Union’s four most relevant and recent regulations setting requirements for the sustainability of buildings. By using environmental justice as a theoretical framework, the author conducted a document analysis investigating Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Energy Efficiency Directive, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and Construction Products Regulation (and relevant organisations’ reports) to investigate how these regulations impact housing affordability, quality and availability for low-income households. EU is clear in its intent to support low-income households in the green transition. However, the current legislation is highly ambiguous and the support remains on high-level specialised language recommendations, not providing any clear strategies or guidelines to ensure that low-income households’ needs are taken into account. Hence, the EU needs to provide higher level of clearness and enforcement mechanisms, as well as definitions, time and inclusion of vulnerable households in the policy-making, if they want to create policies that truly do not leave anyone behind.