RoGBC discussing about green jobs at “Ora Verde”
November 3, 2009 at 5:36 pm | In General, Legislative Outreach | Leave a Comment
Anca Bieru, our Director for Memberships and Public Affairs talked about the possibility to create new jobs by directing the economy towards greener approaches to business.
Taking “Ora Verde” (“Green Hour”) TV show as a message platform, Anca Bieru and Luminita Tanasie (WWF) discussed about the opportunities that derive from a green economy. This was part of a common effort of both the RoGBC and the WWF to raise awareness of the fact that the practical measures that can be taken for a green economy represent an investment for a sustainable economic future, and not budgetary costs.
Lobbying for adoption of a strong EPBD
October 5, 2009 at 1:23 pm | In General, Legislative Outreach | Leave a CommentTags: Energy Audit, Energy Efficiency, EPBD, Legislation, Lobby
The key points that were made in both meetings I had in Brussels for presenting our position paper on a stronger EPBD are:
1. Lobbying at national levels in other EU countries - to representatives from national Ministries is not inefficient – there are still negotiation on the position of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is the most rigid institution in the trialogue and challenged important provisions from the current version of the Directive – such as common methodology for calculation, verification of inspection report and of the energy performance certificate (these only from the discussions that were made so far – on half of the amendments)
2. European Parliament is not in a hurry. Ms. Ticau said she won’t make a compromise on a weak Directive and if agreement is not obtained by December they will start the normal co-decision procedure that might take some time. The European Parliament (EP) wants to have an agreement soon, but not in the detriment of the content. Strong points that EP doesn’t want to make a compromise on – common methodology for calculation, setting energy efficiency requirements for building components , fiscal and financial measures to support the implementation of the Directive, net zero energy buildings.
3. Another important point – if the three institution fail to reach an agreement by December – the process might take much longer afterwords (Ms. Ticau was saying that some Directives are discussed in the Council for years).
The opportunity we have now is that the three institutions that are now negotiating – European Parliament, Council of Ministers, European Commission feel some pressure from achieving an agreement before Copenhagen – to demonstrate leadership in the negotiation there.
RoGBC decided to ask the other Green Building Councils in Europe (18 organizations) to start lobbying heavily at their national level for their governments to support an agreement at the EU level on a strong EPBD. This would help creating the needed market conditions all over EU for developing energy efficient buildings and rehabilitating the existing ones.
Anca
RoGBC supports the adoption of a more ambitious Directive for Energy Performance in Buildings
September 29, 2009 at 11:51 am | In Legislative Outreach | Leave a CommentTags: Energy Efficiency, EPBD, Green Building, Legislation
Anca Bieru, Membership & Public Affairs Director for the RoGBC, met yesterday in Brussels with Adriana Ticau, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), to lobby for the position of the RoGBC regarding the new Directive for Energy Performance in Buildings (EPBD).
Representatives of the Council and WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Romania have written a position paper addressed to the MEP Adriana Ticau, with the purpose of encouraging the progressive position of the European Parliament in the Trialogue Negotiations starting this month to obtain an agreement on the recast of EPBD.
The message of the position paper is one supporting the adoption of an “ambitious recast of the Directive, as it resulted from the European Parliament vote” and the idea of maintaining an inter-institutional negotiation.
The organizations signing the paper positioned that “a fast agreement should not be reached to the detriment of the content.” Also, the two parties agree that “priority should be given to adopting an ambitious EPBD that contributes to savings of more than 5% of the total EU CO2 emissions and 6% of EU final energy use.”
The text of the position paper is available for reading here.
RoGBC signs position paper “Romania and Climate Change Policies – Economic Stimulus from a Green Economy”
September 19, 2009 at 4:46 pm | In Events, Legislative Outreach | Leave a CommentTags: renewable energy, LEED, Green Building, Green Building Council, WWF, climate change, Legislative Outreach, strategy, Legislation, conference, green buildings, Energy Certification, Energy Audit, GBC, buildings, Sustainable Development, Energy Efficiency, sustainable architecture, sustainability, Energy Efficiency in Buildings
The Romania Green Building Council (RoGBC) along with WWF Danube-Carpathian Romania, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Association of Energy Auditors for Buildings (AAEC) signed a shared position paper, regarding the measures that should be taken in order to encourage energy efficiency. The document, entitled “Romania and Climate Change Policies – Economic Stimulus from a Green Economy”, draws the attention on the economic opportunities associated with the implementation of environment policies, especially in the construction field. Some of the opportunities highlighted are the reducing energy costs, ensuring energy safety, raising comfort and creating new jobs.
In addition, the position paper underlines the necessity of immediate action in order to move towards a greener economy and explains that the practical measures to be applied do not represent budgetary costs, but investments towards a sustainable development. .
The position paper is available for reading here.
Local Incentives for Attracting Green Investments
September 2, 2009 at 12:59 pm | In Events, Legislative Outreach | Leave a CommentTags: green investments, incentive, investment, Legislation, Legislative Outreach, strategy
Romania Green Building Council is creating a strategy with local measures that could be implemented by local public authorities for attracting green investments. The initiative consists of:
- realizing a comprehensive study on successful policies implemented by other local public authorities in different parts of the world and comparing/checking with existing national legislation on what could be done in Romania.
- a survey with questionnaires sent to local public authorities, developers and architects meant to identify their feedback on the topic.
- a Green Cafe on the 23rd of September where we will discuss more details, in workgroups with RoGBC members and guests from the local public authorities on specific suggested measures that the RoGBC is planning to promote further.
The results and the main conclusions of the survey will be presented to the local public authorities within the conference “Cities of the Future: Towards Low Carbon Economies”, organized in Brasov by the Association of Romanian Municipalities and the European Commission on October 14.
Please contact Anca Bieru at anca.bieru@RoGBC.org for more details or getting involved.
Protected: Position Paper – Introduction of Ecological Construction Materials in the Thermal rehabilitation program
June 4, 2009 at 12:57 pm | In Legislative Outreach | Enter your password to view commentsTags: ecological_construction_materials, Legislation, Legislative Outreach, thermal_reabilitation
New EPBD sets bold standards for energy efficiency in constructions
May 26, 2009 at 8:00 am | In General, Legislative Outreach | Leave a CommentSignificant market shifts are expected to happen in the green building sector with the new Energy Performance in Building Directive (EPBD) being approved by the European Parliament, earlier this April. Following a likely adoption by the Council of Ministers, each Member state must transpose the directive into national legislation and draft new laws, action plans, and strategies to accomplish the set targets. The goal is having all Member states ensure that all new buildings are at least “net zero energy” buildings by 31 st of December 2016. In order to accomplish that goal, member states shall set targets for the minimum percentage of buildings, which will be, by 2015 and 2020 respectively, net zero energy buildings, measured as a percentage of the total number of buildings and as a percentage in relation to the total useful floor are.
In addition, separate targets should be set for buildings occupied by public authorities – that should be at least three years before the above mentioned targets. The Directive also addresses the need of a common methodology for calculating energy performance in buildings. Therefore, it requires all Member states to draft such a methodology by March 31st, 2010. As a background information, currently there are significant differences between the different calculation methodologies from different member states that make possible that in some countries – ex. Germany, Austria – the energy certificate is stronger because it imposes higher standards than in other countries.
Also, the Directive suggests that the Member states apply both technical and financial measures. First, the member states should encourage the usage of high efficiency alternative systems based on energy from renewable sources, cogeneration, district or block heating or cooling, heat pumps, and ICT equipment for monitoring and control purposes. Second, the should reduce existing legal and market barriers and develop existing and new financial and fiscal instruments to increase the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings. The latter should be set by all Member States, by June 30th, 2011.
The EPBD is the major piece of legislation whose implementation has a direct effect on creating the market conditions that are relevant for the development of green buildings in Romania.
The text of the directive, in its EP approved form is available for further study here.
New version of “Casa Verde” to be launched soon – the draft of the financing guide is available for comments
April 16, 2009 at 5:01 pm | In Legislative Outreach | Leave a CommentTags: casa verde, funding, Legislation, Legislative Outreach
Today, the draft of the financing guide for the new version of “Casa Verde” program was published by the Environment Fund Administration. RoGBC is planning to evaluate the new guide and send our comments. We are encouraging all the members – especially the ones that are active in the area of technical consultancy and the providers of renewable energy solutions for thermal energy – to take a look on the guide and send us their comments and suggestions on the drafted guide by Monday, 27th of April.
Main points from the new program:
- The main beneficiaries of the financing are the local and central public authorities ; the owners association are also eligible for the funding
- The types of projects to be financed are replacing or introducing new heating systems from public buildings (buildings that belong to public authorities, hospitals, schools, social and/or cultural centers) or blocks of flats
- The total budget for 2009 is 310.000.000 RON and it will be split between two annual financing sessions
- The maximum level of financing is 70% out of total eligible costs
- Main cost categories eligible for financing are – the equipments for the heating system, the assembly costs, consultancy costs for the feasibility studies , VAT
- The financing session will be officially open soon
The draft of the financing guide is available here .
For more information and comments please send me an e-mail at anca.bieru@rogbc.org .
Anca
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UNDP and Ministries of Environment; Foreign Affairs meeting
August 24, 2009 at 9:56 am | In Legislative Outreach | Leave a CommentTags: climate change, comments, conference, Green Building Council, meeting, Sustainable Development
Representative of the Ministry of Environment's climate change team briefs the attendees on the activities to date
I just returned from a consultative meeting organized by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Romania, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting’s subject was entitled “Romania in the Context of Negotiations for the New Global Climate Change Agreement, Copenhagen, December 2009 – United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention COP 15″. Attendees included dignitaries of the above-mentioned organizations as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, various academic institutions, NGOs and private sector representatives. We as stakeholders were asked to provide concrete recommendations as Romania prepares its position for national and international policy for the post-Kyoto period beyond 2012.
On behalf of the Romania Green Building Council, I made the following points:
1) That studies being performed to calculate the economic impact of greater CO2 / greenhouse gas reduction commitments should also include the reduced economic risk from greater energy efficiency and energy security. In addition, recognition of the significant contribution of buildings, new and existing, to greenhouse gas emissions must be elevated in the continuing climate change discussions in Copenhagen and beyond.
2) Financing mechanisms that reward green building, green tech, and renewable energy solutions and are paid back by future energy savings are a low cost way for encouraging innovation and helping Romania to prosper from adopting a low carbon economy.
3) Density bonuses, property tax exemptions and expedited permitting (among other incentives) for green buildings can provide better quality investments, sustained economic growth, and, of course, better buildings. A greater amount of green property investments offset the cost of tax reductions to municipalities and promote high-quality jobs.
4) Greater willingness to review and allow environmentally-superior construction materials is necessary to increase the energy efficiency of buildings and reduce their environmental impact. Reaching climate change commitments can be achieved by more innovative thinking and new policies instead of requiring greater spending.
5) Companies should be supported in their transition away from fossil fuel. We must let the market economy function but provide support in specific cases where the environmental costs are not captured by the normal market mechanisms.
Eliza Teodorescu presents recomendations from the Climate Action Network Romania
The Legislative Outreach Task Group of the Romania Green Building Council is preparing, in cooperation with WWF Romania a position paper to be delivered to the Government of Romania which will include the above points along with more details on policies and tools to ensure Romania’s climate change response brings sustainable economic growth.
We look forward to your comments.
- Steve