The European Union will require countries to renovate energy-guzzling buildings faster and meet tougher targets to save energy as part of its drive to meet climate change goals, according to a draft document seen by Reuters. Buildings produce more than a third of EU CO2 emissions and account for 40% of the bloc’s energy consumption, making the sector a key threat to Europe’s plan to reduce planet-warming emissions. A draft European Commission proposal, seen by Reuters, would require countries to put in place measures to cut their final energy consumption by 1.5% each year from 2024 to 2030, nearly doubling a current requirement of 0.8%. That could be done by insulating buildings or installing more energy efficient heating and cooling systems. Europe currently renovates just 1% of […]