The construction sector in Malta has an important role to play in helping us meet the European Green Deal’s target of carbon-neutrality by 2050.
The sector is not only of huge importance to Malta’s economy but it’s a key player in controlling climate change. Traditional buildings, after all, are responsible for about 40 per cent of the EU’s energy consumption and 36 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Commission has singled out the building sector as a priority in the European Green Deal, stressing that all those involved in it will be instrumental in driving energy efficiency.
To that end, they’ve rolled out various programmes to help the construction sector embrace the Green Deal. One of those programmes is the Renovation Wave Strategy, which was launched late last year.
It requires member states, over the next 10 years, to double the number of building renovations undertaken in order to make existing properties more energy- and resource-efficient.
The construction sector is also a key player in enhancing the quality of life for people who live and work in these buildings. A greater focus on digitalisation, creating more pleasant living environments and the reuse and recycling of the materials used in construction will reap dividends.
Plus, let’s not forget that by 2030, 35 million buildings could be renovated and up to 160,000 additional green jobs created in the construction sector across Europe. That’s a massive boom for post-COVID-19 economic recovery in Malta given that the construction sector is labour-intensive and largely dominated by local businesses.
But it’s not just about renovation.
Yes, schools, hospitals and public buildings need to be renovated but new buildings and projects are also high on the agenda.
The European Commission is leading the charge with the announcement of The New European Bauhaus, a project which aims to create new, beautiful, sustainable buildings across the whole of the EU.
We need to see a transformation of the building sector- Gayle Kimberley
It’s essentially a green architecture project which will bring art and science together and improve energy-efficiency in Europe’s buildings. Modelled after the German grassroots Arts and Crafts Movement, it will create a forum where architects, artists, scientists and entrepreneurs can collaborate. Its goal is to turn Europe’s proposed green building renovation programme into a cultural movement. Put simply: they want to make sustainable living beautiful.
Later this year, the commission will issue calls for the funding of five founding Bauhaus centres in 2022. More centres will be rolled out later.
The construction sector is also being asked to look at developing neighbourhood-based approaches for local communities to integrate renewable and digital solutions and create zero-energy districts, where consumers become prosumers, selling energy to the grid.
To do all the above, national policies need to be drafted in a way to help the sector turn green. This is not only necessary to pursue Malta’s 30-year goal of climate neutrality but it’s critical in the battle against energy-poverty: the situation where ordinary people cannot afford to pay their energy bills.
The European Commission is again putting its money where its mouth is. There is a myriad of opportunities to help the construction sector be part of the Green Deal movement. Help exists in the form of policy measures, funding tools and technical assistance. Everything has been thought of to help the sector overcome the burdens it faces through a typical renovation process - from the conception of a project to its funding and completion.
There are incentives for public and private sector renovations, well-targeted funding opportunities and multiple incentives for private financing, training and skills development for workers in new green jobs, new market opportunities for sustainable construction products and services and more.
The opportunities are endless and the future exciting and bright for our construction sector if it fully embraces the Green Deal. This sector can be instrumental in changing Malta’s landscape for future generations. So, it’s time we give the sector the importance it deserves in our national Green Deal movement.
We need to see a transformation of the building sector. Today it is an economic powerhouse. Tomorrow it can be that and so much more: a Green building sector that strives for a better tomorrow.
Gayle Kimberley is director, Ewropa Consultancy.