By Polina Peredera
- building sector
- clean energy
- environment
- ESPR
- sustainable products
This year is set to be one of the hottest on record with global average temperatures forecast to reach about 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels. The time to make bold decisions for humanity and the planet is now. What are the key areas to watch in 2023? Read on!
Solutions exist and are attainable – but we have no time to lose. Moving away from fossil fuels, greening industrial processes, making sustainable products the norm, and efficiently guiding consumers towards them… all these priorities will set us on the path to climate neutrality, as well as contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Have a look at the four priority areas that will be key in 2023.
Clean energy
The energy sector is undergoing rapid transformation, and its decarbonisation should be a top priority if we are to mitigate the climate emergency and end our dependency on fossil fuels.
It is now apparent that direct electrification is much more efficient than fossil gas or indirect electricity use, for instance, through hydrogen. Crucially, electricity can be produced from renewables – contrary to fossil gas.
For years now, ECOS has been highlighting the need for a truly efficient and renewable power grid to decarbonise the energy sector. This can be done by ensuring flexible energy use through smart heat pumps and smart charging of electric vehicles (EVs).
We must also ensure that electricity grids are clean. Currently, grid switchgear is commonly insulated by a gas called SF6, which prevents electrical discharges. Unfortunately, the use of SF6 comes at a great environmental cost, while climate-friendly alternatives exist. There is absolutely no reason to delay the SF6 phase-out.
This is why in 2023 we will:
- Help boost the uptake of F-gas-free heat pumps and phase out gas boilers thanks to the implementation of ambitious ecodesign and energy labelling regulations on heating products.
- Ensure a wide uptake of smart charging, notably through the implementation of the Battery Regulation and the EU Action Plan on digitalising the energy sector.
- Influence the implementation of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive and the Hydrogen and Gas Decarbonisation Package so that policy and standards ensure hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources and that its renewable production is certified in a transparent and clear manner.
Upcoming discussions to watch out for:
- Crucial decisions around setting a date to end the sales of fossil fuel boilers in the EU market. 2029 was already hinted at by the Commission last year. The date will be discussed during the revision of the ecodesign regulation for solid fuel heaters and solid fuel local space heaters. The revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive will also include a mention of a date.
- The new EU F-Gas Regulation.
- International standard IEC 63110, setting the communication protocols for EV charging infrastructure.
- Revision of the EU Electricity Market Design, which could contribute to the uptake of smart EV charging.
- New ecodesign requirements for EV charging stations and low-temperature emitters.
Sustainable products
2023 must be the year when the higher tiers of the circular economy are unlocked. Sufficiency, reduction, circular business models and reuse all lie at the very core of the circular economy and need to be mainstreamed.
Legislation, underpinned by environmentally ambitious standards, can and should stimulate design for durability, reusability, repairability and ultimately recyclability in order to make circular and sustainable products the norm, starting with high impact sectors such as construction, textiles, packaging.
Limiting our consumption and changing the established patterns will be crucial to achieving a climate-neutral world and addressing biodiversity and energy crises at the same time.
In 2023, we will focus on:
- Pushing for an ambitious Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation to ensure material footprint reduction and toxic-free design are its key success indicators.
- For packaging, we will advocate for standards and policy solutions to ensure coherence and interoperability of reuse systems so as to maximise their environmental benefits.
- For construction products, we will measure, communicate and streamline climate and environmental benefits of reuse by proving its feasibility for key construction products value streams.
- We will continue working on the harmonisation of the ecodesign criteria for products. Particularly, ensuring the right interplay between standards under the Construction Products Regulation and regulatory requirements on reused construction products prompted by the alignment with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.
Upcoming discussions to watch out for:
- Proposal for the revision of Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation going through discussions among EU institutions.
- Under development – European standards on packaging reuse within CEN TC 261/SC4/WG7, supporting the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
- Proposal for a revised Waste Framework Directive, including textile waste prevention.
Sustainable buildings
Buildings are responsible for just under 40% of all energy-related CO2 emissions globally – greening the sector must be a global priority in 2023. To keep on track with our commitments to limit global warming to 2 degrees under the Paris Agreement, we need to decrease the whole-life carbon emissions of buildings by 50% by 2030.
A considerable share of building sustainability is linked to the emissions associated with the production of construction materials, and in particular, those coming from energy-intensive industry sectors, such as cement and steel.
In 2023, ECOS will be working towards facilitating the uptake of low-carbon materials thanks to a favourable policy and standards framework. This will include ensuring the robustness of methodologies that underpin global decarbonisation efforts, both from the public and private sectors.
In 2023, ECOS will:
- Drive the development of Paris-aligned regulatory requirements and technical criteria to reduce whole-life carbon emissions of buildings.
- Work to remove standardisation barriers to the wide uptake of low-carbon alternatives, and advocate for an ambitious policy framework that improves the environmental sustainability of intermediate products – such as cement and steel – to gradually drive worst performers off the market.
- Help establish regulatory requirements and standards for circularity at both building and construction product levels to eliminate environmental impacts embodied in materials used and wasted by the sector.
Upcoming discussions to watch out for:
- Revision of the EU Construction Products Regulation.
- Revision of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, due to be finalised in the first half of the year.
Environmental transparency
Green claims on the environmental performance of products and activities are proliferating. In 2022, we worked hard on pushing the EU to strictly regulate them. 2023 must keep up the ambition.
Green claims will be on our radar throughout the year: ranging from net zero company pledges, to recycled content claims on products to the possible repair index. We will keep a close eye on carbon neutrality claims in particular, which are becoming a new trend.
In 2023, we also expect a breakthrough in how corporations are required to report their circularity performance, thanks to the adoption of European-wide sustainability reporting standards. Watch out, ECOS will help draft these standards.
ECOS activities in 2023 will include:
- Push policy makers to adopt strong rules to effectively ban greenwashing and ensure all green claims are duly substantiated.
- Push to ban misleading climate neutrality claims and contribute to the establishment of solid rules through our participation in ISO discussions.
- Support the adoption of corporate reporting standards, which require companies to report their progress towards a circular economy.
Upcoming discussions to watch out for:
- The adoption of the Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition.
- EU Initiative on Substantiating Green Claims.
- The adoption of cross-sectoral corporate reporting standards implementing the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
- International standard ISO 14068 on carbon neutrality.
