The EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, but make it Biosecure

Last year, the DG for energy announced a package of documents that would support EU countries to implement the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive ( EPBD ). The effective implementation of this bill "will help to strengthen energy independence, lower energy bills, lower grid investment needs [...] and achieve the energy efficiency goal of reducing energy consumption by 11.7% by 2030." The EPBD is essentially the first time indoor environmental quality (IEQ*) (and with it, indoor air quality (IAQ)) has been written into law as a core objective, instead of an afterthought, which is a huge deal from a biosecurity perspective. However, seeing as this is a directive of the Directorate General of Energy, these documents only make a offhand reference to the link between air quality and risk of airborne pathogen transmission and otherwise ignore the overlap between these issues. The following paragraphs cover the following: short summary of the EPBD how this is to be implemented in line with the offered delegated regulation , implementation regulation and guidance documents considerations from a biosecurity perspective 1. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) This directive sets some minimum energy performance requirements for buildings, while also requiring varying considerations of IEQ depending on the building (new vs. existing building, public vs. private, etc.) All new buildings must be zero-emission by 2028 for public buildings and by 2030 for all other ne…