According to Eurostat statistics, in 2020, buildings represent nearly 40% and households, alone, 27% of the total energy consumption in the EU. It is therefore clear that in a technologically advanced environment and with finite energy resources, it is of paramount importance to make use of the plethora of data and evolved techniques for the development and evolution of building sector energy efficiency strategies. Elissaios Sarmas, a PhD candidate at the Energy Policy Unit of the National Technical University of Athens is explaining how MATRYCS, the EU-funded project that Housing Europe is part of is doing this in practice.

The energy transition and its financing have become engrained in the daily activities of social housing providers. Public grants and revolving funds are central to the viability of sustainability plans and key in increasing housing affordability. The housing 2030 report collects some of the best practices in the sector. While grants and funds are tried-and-tested means to finance the energy transition, other sources of financing such as carbon credits or green bonds have drawn the attention of private investors. These investment vehicles tend to come together under the umbrella of Environmental Social and Governance financing, better known by its acronym: ESG. Alex Fernandez, a PhD Research student at TU Delft, currently doing an internship at Housing Europe, is telling us more below.

As a recent report by Fondation Abbé Pierre and FEANTSA showed, young people in Europe are increasingly at risk of housing exclusion. The lack of adequate and affordable housing undermines their chances of attending university far from home and grabbing job opportunities where they arise, particularly in large urban areas. For many young people, social housing is often out of reach because of long wait lists and allocation criteria that prioritise the most vulnerable households, given the lack of sufficiency of social and affordable homes. Igor Costarelli who is a research fellow at the University of Milan Bicocca and coordinator of the ENHR working group Housing and Young People, provides examples of how the social and affordable housing sector is addressing the issue.