Build a new Energy Renovation Strategy around the Mediterranean

Attaining the energy efficiency of existing buildings is a major challenge for Europe as it strives to confront the challenge of climate change in the 21st Century.

The Mediterranean regions as well as the most advanced states and regions of Europe must respond to the ambitious national and European commitments that have been made with strategies that are adapted to their specific climatic and socioeconomic needs.

The situation on the ground implies a significant effort for the Mediterranean region that not only has to contend with specific summer conditions and a particular socio-economic context, but also with energy efficiency standards for buildings that are less stringent compared to the rest of the European Union.

23 partners spread across 9 Mediterranean countries have responded and committed themselves to participate in the MARIE project. The mission of the MARIE project is to co-construct a strategy for energy efficiency improvement in existing buildings in the Mediterranean region. To succeed in this task, MARIE faces three major challenges:

• To develop and adopt new regulatory requirements and new institutional tools to achieve the goals established by the new European Directive (EPBD, october 2012).
• Find new financial mechanisms that can be used to stimulate the thermal rehabilitation of buildings.
• Give further support to local businesses, in particular SMEs, so as to provide them with appropriate products and services for energy renovation of buildings.

The underlying idea, therefore, thanks to this Mediterranean task force, is to go further towards the jointly-defined objectives but also to defend the specific characteristics of Mediterranean buildings, and to do so in such a way as to be able to compete on an equal footing with northern European Regions. The first measures to be proposed are presented under the rubric ‘Tools to decide and act’.

These measures touch on the following subjects:

1. Design tools for the renewal of energy installations in buildings (sharing of knowledge regarding the energy consumption of households - Protocols for renovation)
2. Activation of the market for the energy rehabilitation of buildings (Communication - Education - Inter-firm cooperation and interclusters)
3. Competitiveness and Innovation (Support for local industries and renewable materials - Promotion of environmentally sustainable equipment - Integration of the supply of services related to the energy sector - R & D initiatives)
4. Public governance – BEE (correspondence of regulations and regional policies with the objectives of the EU. Putting in place of MEBEE regional governance structures to the implementation of the actions. Sharing of experiences and policies).
5.  Economic resources for the energy renovation of buildings (allocation of resources via regional investment programmes. Putting in place of innovative financial and fiscal mechanisms to mobilise resources).