This European Roundtable on carbon monoxide (CO) focused on ‘Putting safer heating at the heart of building renovations’ in the context of the Renovation Wave.
Ms Spyraki, who drafted the ENVI Committee Opinion on ‘maximising the energy efficiency potential of the building stock’ in the European Parliament, suggested that indoor air pollutants do not get enough attention from policymakers, and that bad indoor air quality is causing significant damage to people’s health - all the more so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, where people are spending even more time at home. CO is amongst those air pollutants.
She suggested that using smart safety devices is one of the best available ways to prevent and “the multiple deaths across Europe that are caused by CO”.
Buildings are responsible for about 40% of Europe’s energy consumption, mostly through heating and cooling. One of the main reasons behind the need for accelerating the rate, depth and quality of building renovations is to contribute to the EU’s increased climate goals by 2030 and 2050 (carbon neutrality objective).
Renovations need to be carried out in an integrated way, and they represent an opportunity to also increase residents’ safety and improve indoor air quality.
Download the CO Roundtable Presentation here