THE ENERGY FUTURE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS IN BRUSSELS: BETWEEN PRESERVATION AND PERFORMANCE

A WORD OF INTRODUCTION

On behalf of the Minister-President, I'd like to thank all the participants for taking part in this seminar in such large numbers.

The government's adoption of the Brussels Air, Climate & Energy Code in May 2013 demonstrated its firm intention to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and gaseous pollutants while ensuring affordable access to energy for households in the Region. This code, based on the Air-Climate-Energy Plan, includes among other things the measures to be implemented to improve energy efficiency in public buildings and achieve targets for reducing energy consumption, namely a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 compared to 1990 levels.

The issue of energy efficiency is generally associated with buildings (both residential and non-residential), tertiary activities and transport. Insofar as buildings are concerned, housing is one of the biggest consumers of energy. There are obviously a variety of reasons for this: lack of building maintenance, obsolete technical installations, poor insulation, inappropriate occupation or use of buildings, etc. The combination of these factors can result in energy insecurity with significant financial and health implications, particularly among already economically disadvantaged populations.

The issue of energy efficiency in existing buildings is fundamental. The Region already has a range of tools available to it to take action and improve the situation: four-year plans by the Brussels-Capital Region Housing Company; Sustainable or Renovation Neighbourhood Contracts; building façade improvement grants; subsidised works and mobility plans. Nevertheless, increasing the number of such mechanisms does not always make them effective. The onerousness of the procedures involved, the waiting time, the complexity of the mechanisms and the lack of monitoring of results has not always enabled the expected outcomes to be achieved. This is why the Government wanted, at this opening session of parliament “to assess and amend the system of renovation grants so that they are primarily aimed at those who really need them (...) and reassess the system for renovation and energy grants (...) with a view, in particular, to uniting the two mechanisms”. The government also wanted to shift the focus of current energy grants from new passive and low energy construction to energy saving works. This reassessment should also enable just consideration to be given to the architectural and heritage quality of our City and Region. The balance between conserving heritage and energy must be achieved. Our actions must be aimed at finding this balance between building performance and preservation; such a balance can only be found if we take into account the specific characteristics of the old fabric in order to work on buildings in an intelligent manner and reduce energy costs without creating structural problems that would endanger the long term objectives being pursued. By renovating the city, enhancing our heritage, working on the urban fabric and improving living conditions, we are looking towards the long term.

Clearly, the efforts required are significant, the project complex, the parties involved numerous and the resources limited. However, it is possible to reconcile heritage and energy; there are numerous links between the two issues and by encouraging discussion, by bringing together the different trades, by posing issues and debating what's at stake, common lines of thought can be mapped out. Faced with such complex challenges, a cross-disciplinary effort to raise awareness and advise our fellow citizens will have to be carried out. The administrations and associations will have an essential role to play.

Thank you and I hope you have a day filled with intense discussion and ideas!

Bety Waknine

Deputy Minister-President Rudi Vervoort.

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