To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the EU is revising the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to be more ambitious in the renovation of the EU’s building stock, of which almost 75% is energy inefficient. One of the priorities of the proposal is to modernise buildings and their heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. The challenge is to design dedicated policies to ensure the needs of the 137 million people living in rural areas across Europe are taken into account, and that the focus is not just on urban dwellings. We need the green transition to be a just transition for all.
BUILDINGS EVERYWHERE
NEED TO BE DECARBONISED
BUILDINGS EVERYWHERE
NEED TO BE DECARBONISED
In its bid to be climate-neutral by 2050, the EU is revising the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to be more ambitious towards renovating the EU’s building stock, almost 75% of which is energy inefficient. One of the priorities of the proposal is to modernise buildings and their heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. The challenge is to design dedicated policies to ensure the 130 million people living in rural areas across Europe are included in the green transition.
LIQUID GASES ARE A KEY PART OF THE ENERGY PUZZLE
Electrifying heating and cooling is not the silver bullet for the decarbonisation of all buildings across all areas. The current EPBD proposal risks excluding off-gas-grid, vulnerable communities from viable heating solutions, since it will allow Member States to effectively ban boilers – a reliable and cost-effective technology that can also use renewable liquid gases which are increasingly available. Instead, the EPBD favours technologies that are unsuitable for some buildings, unaffordable for consumers, or both.
RURAL FUTURES ASKS POLICY MAKERS TO



What are liquid gases?
Liquid gases are low-pressure liquefied gases from either fossil, non-fossil, and/or renewable sources. They are composed of propane and/or butane or mixtures of the two, which can also include DME, as well as one or more other light hydrocarbons such as propane (propylene), isobutane, isobutylene, butene (butylene), ethane, with traces of other hydrocarbon gases. Their combustion emits 33% less CO2 than coal and 15% less heating oil.
Renewable liquid gases are a ‘drop-in solution’: as they become mainstream, they can immediately replace traditional liquid gases, keeping all the benefits of conventional liquid gases and bringing the low carbon benefits of renewables. They are a long-term answer to decarbonising buildings.
WHO WE ARE
Rural futures
Rural Futures is a campaign supported by Liquid Gas Europe