§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the potential carbon savings are in the EU as a result of the proposed energy performance of buildings directive expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide. [45138]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 21 March 2002]: The European Union Final Energy Demand by sector and by fuel in 1997 (Mtoe) indicated that 40.7 per cent. of final energy demand would come from buildings1. A further review by the European Union2 reviewed existing energy
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1997 MAFF regional structure MAFF regional service centres/counties State Veterinary Service Staffordshire, Shropshire (see footnote 1) and Merseyside (North) North East (Northallerton) North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Durham Northern (Carlisle) Lancashire, Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Wales Scotland 1 Includes Shropshire efficiency measures and identified buildings as a priority action area for the short and medium term. An action plan3 outlined ways to limit carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and to improve their energy efficiency.
In the UK, the residential and tertiary building sectors have been shown to be the largest overall end users of energy, mainly for heating, lighting, appliances and equipment. The energy consumed in buildings in the UK amounts to 46 per cent. of the national total (27 per cent. from the domestic sector and 19 per cent. from the 1129W non-domestic sector). This equates to about 235 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year—or about 63.5 million tonnes of carbon per year (MtC/year).
1 Source: Energy in Europe—European Union Energy Outlook to 2020, special issue November 1999. The Shared Analysis Project, EEC.
2 Communication from the Commission of 29 April 1998: Energy Efficiency in the European Community—Towards a Strategy for the Rational Use of Energy.
3 Action plan to improve energy efficiency in the European Community, 2000. Commission Proposal COM (2000) 247 final http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/energy/Ivb/127033.htm.