Key facts
- Eco construction uses natural, locally sourced materials like straw, wood, raw earth, and lime plaster.
- These techniques help buildings maintain significantly lower indoor temperatures during heatwaves compared to conventional buildings.
- The building sector accounts for 35% of EU greenhouse gas emissions.
- Eco construction can be 15-20% more expensive upfront than traditional building methods.
- Paris has mandated bio-based insulation for renovations since 2020.
- Financial incentives are suggested to encourage the use of sustainable building materials.
Eco construction techniques are emerging as a vital solution to keep buildings cool during increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, while also reducing carbon emissions. These methods prioritize natural, locally sourced materials such as straw, wood, raw earth, and lime plaster, which require less energy for manufacturing and transportation.
The building sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 35% of the EU's total. Eco construction offers a way to mitigate this impact by using low-carbon materials and processes, aligning with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
During a recent heatwave in France, the Simone Veil Library, built using eco-friendly principles, maintained indoor temperatures between 23.5 and 25.5 degrees Celsius, even when external temperatures reached up to 42 degrees. This demonstrated the effectiveness of these techniques in providing thermal comfort without the need for air conditioning.
However, a major challenge for eco construction is its higher upfront cost, often 15-20% more expensive than conventional building. This can disadvantage green builders when clients prioritize the lowest initial price, despite the long-term savings offered by sustainable buildings.
Cities like Paris are actively promoting eco-friendly building practices. Since 2020, the city has mandated the use of only bio-based insulation materials for renovating public buildings and housing, citing their ability to provide thermal time lag. Efforts are underway to encourage private renovators, with proposals for financial incentives such as a reduced VAT rate for sustainable materials and eco-conditionality for public funding.
Despite these efforts, a large portion of Europe's building stock remains energy inefficient, and renovation rates are slow. Addressing this issue is crucial for both public health during extreme weather events and for meeting climate change commitments.