Individuals should be allocated living space of between 14-20 square meters for a single person and 40-80 square meters for a four-person household, a research fellow at the Chair of International Relations and Sustainable Development at Germany’s Münster University. While such an idea may seem extreme, the contextual, social, economic and cultural conditions are already being explored in both science and policy. The EEB advocates the idea that, in order to reduce carbon emissions from the building sector, the focus should only lie on energy renovation but also on our planet’s natural resources in order to create a more sustainable and ecological habitat.
There should be a greater focus on renovation rather than new construction, as this would better combat carbon emissions from the building sector. The matter cannot be taken over by the Commission as it falls under national competence. The European Commission will revise its energy taxation directive, with the aim of reversing the current logic whereby electricity, which is supposed to be greener, is more heavily taxed than fossil fuels like gas and oil.