Mapping Out an Integrated Policy Approach for Energy Savings in Europe’s High-Rise Residential Buildings

In the context of pressing and frequently conflicting environmental, economic and social policyobjectives, energy efficiency investment is repeatedly found to be a cost-effective and reconcilablecomponent of energy policies. High-rise residential buildings are a particularly salient issue in thisregard as their poor energy efficiency is regarded as a moderate to major problem by 18 out of 27housing ministries respondent to a Europe-wide survey. Yet no research exists on the Europeanpicture of the potential for energy efficiency improvement in high-rise buildings, nor on ways to achievethis potential.Taking into account the present EU25 plus Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, this paper based onresearch funded by the IEA and the EuroACE very briefly illustrates the scope for increased energyefficiency in high-rise buildings and the benefits investment in energy efficiency in these buildings canprovide, including the cost-effectiveness and CO2 mitigation cost of this investment. Following thisassessment of current potential, and based on a map of the political, economic, social and legalopportunities for and barriers to financing and implementing the necessary energy efficiencyinvestment, policy steps are identified and proposed which form the integrated policy approachneeded to exploit the energy-saving potential in this sector.