According to a new EU report, increased energy efficiency in buildings the range of the EU target of 40% by 2030 would bring economic benefits worth €126 billion per year. This does not take into account the economic benefits of reducing indoor climate risks, such as the savings on healthcare, social costs and lost productivity.
Source: A. Heflich et al, 2021, Think Tank European Parliament, “EU Energy System Transformation: Cost of non-Europe.”
The Eurofound in 2016 estimated that "inadequate housing is costing Europe 194 billion EUR per year"
The table below shows the total annual economic benefits of improving poor indoor climates in residential and public buildings, such as schools and offices across Europe. A lack of sufficient data for economic modelling means that these figures are a conservative estimate of the potential benefits that can be achieved by reducing the four risk factors across Europe. However, based on what can be modelled at this point, it is estimated that Europe’s economy could gain more than €600 billion by 2050. That is well over half of the expected investments needed for realising the European Green Deal’s aim to transform the 27-country bloc from a high- to a low-carbon economy by 2050
Note: EU 27+ includes 27 EU Member States plus Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom (except for productivity improvements through increased ventilation in schools where Switzerland and Norway are excluded). Figures are in real present value Euros. Direct healthcare cost savings are related to population attributable fractions of exposure to damp and mould as well as daylight and the association with asthma and upper and lower respiratory infections and depression. Improvements in ventilation rates in European schools assumes an improvement of ventilation rates to 3 l/s, and for offices it assumes an increase of ventilation rates to 7 l/s (upper scenario in BPIE report). Productivity improvements through access to daylight in European offices are based on a scenario assuming an increase to 800 lux (highest scenario in BPIE report).
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