Buildings and the construction sector are responsible for over one-third of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO 2 emissions .

The economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic should not delay the European Union's ambitious climate change measures. The Commission has confirmed that the work on long-term policy priorities such as the Green Deal is continuing.

Western Macedonia has grown in the last century mainly due to its coal deposits. Lignite mines and power plants were important local employers. The regional capital, Kozani, is still the leading energy producing area of Greece .

Households and small businesses using independent power systems, or microgrids, still find it hard to cope without their national electricity grids.

Across Europe, town and city councils are becoming increasingly interested in energy decentralisation , i.e. in producing power closer to where it is consumed.

Turkey has started considering its own sources to generate electricity as a way to make it less  dependent on fossil fuels, which account for 90% of the country’s current energy supply.

To date, European consumers pay more for energy from renewables than for energy from conventional resources. One of the reasons is still the immaturity of the technology used for harnessing and distributing renewable energy.

Turkey’s energy production for urban areas could be 100% based on renewables within 30 years if appropriate public policy is implemented.

The European grid already faces transmission challenges, as the alternative current (AC) infrastructure has almost reached its transport capacity.

Three public non-residential buildings will be revamped during the next four years in three countries with different climates; namely in Turkey, Belgium and Spain.

Livestock produces a lot of waste. One solution is to turn such agricultural waste into biogas to generate energy .  It requires using so-called anaerobic digestion, which consists in breaking down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen.