With around 40 percent of energy consumption across the European Community in the buildings sector, governments have already recognised energy use as a major issue which needs to be tackled. The good news, however, is that the buildings sector is also an area where it's possible to make real improvements. EU research has found by improving energy efficiency and energy use, carbon dioxide emissions from buildings could be reduced by as much as 22 percent. Achieving a substantial reduction such as this would greatly assist the EU in meeting its climate change objectives under the Kyoto protocol. Therefore, legislation on the Energy Performance of Buildings will be introduced to ensure climate change targets translate into practice. This EU directive will have far-reaching implications for building owners, operators and developers as it will affect all buildings, both domestic and non-domestic. For example, the new legislation will require buildings with a floor area of above 500m~2 to be rated on their energy consumption performance and carbon dioxide emissions.
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