The Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union has laid out the priorities for the six month term, summed up in the motto “Time to deliver: a fair, green and digital recovery”

At Energaia, the Energy Agency for the South of the Porto Metropolitan Area, we believe in this goal and are working to make it possible. Tackling building sector emissions has long been a priority for Energaia, it is estimated that our tax reductions encouraging sustainable construction led to savings of 224 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year over the last 10 years. Whilst this is a great step, with 90% of the current building stock still expected to exist in 2050, construction alone will be unable to eliminate emissions. For carbon neutrality to become feasible, large scale energy renovation of buildings must become affordable.

In order to make this possible Energaia is financing the Horizon 2020 project procuRE along with 5 other cities. The project is currently in the process of collecting input and reaching out to suppliers.