According to Agoria, member of the Federation of Belgian Enterprises, Europe has a strategy in place to tackle the climate-neutral building stock for large consumers. However, when it comes to other industries, each member state must devise its own plan of action. Since Belgium is home to 5 million buildings – that emit CO2 to generate energy for their own heating and cooling – it makes sense that the Belgian government is trying to reduce CO2 emissions primarily through their building stock. The building industry alone is responsible for 36% of CO2 emissions in Europe. After all, Belgium’s building-related CO2 emissions might be reduced up to 91% by 2050.

According to Agoria, each owner of a building is self accountable for attaining this goal. Currently, the requirement is met by about 3% of all structures in Belgium. The remainder of that 97% must become sustainable, renovated or rebuilt as quickly as feasible. Even though Europe requires all of its members to have a climate-neutral building stock by 2050, the details of what constitutes “climate-neutral” are left up to the individual nations. In Belgium, each region has developed a definition for the building stock. This has taken the form of a minimum requirement that must be met, which corresponds to one or more labels on the EPC or EPD certificate. 

By 2030, Belgium promises to cut its CO2 emissions by 35%. One of the industries Belgium is focusing on is construction. In Belgium, the residential building sector is responsible for 13.3% of all greenhouse gas emissions, compared to the tertiary sector’s 4.8%.

Belgium faces a greater challenge than other nations due to its older and larger housing stock, fewer flats, and higher proportion of low-income homeowners who lack the financial resources for energy renovations. In order to meet the 2050 target of having all homes climate-neutral, Belgium must significantly accelerate the pace of renovations.

According to ING, 20% of Belgium’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 were attributable to building heating, of which 15% was used to heat residential buildings and the remaining 5% to heat non-residential buildings. There has been a definite decline in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by heating in the residential sector for a while. For instance, emissions decreased by 20% between 1990 and 2021 despite an increase in the number of structures. The recent milder winters, which have reduced our need for heating, are largely to blame for the decline. On the other hand, the decline in trend has also been strengthened by buildings’ increased energy efficiency. 

In contrast, greenhouse gas emissions in the non-residential sector—which includes stores, offices, and other such establishments—rose by 36% between 1990 and 2021, in part as a result of the rapid expansion in structures and staff numbers. The non-residential sector in particular will need to play catch-up in the upcoming years, even if the residential sector will also need to significantly speed up rehabilitation in order to minimize emissions. 

Unfortunately, Belgium continues to rank among the worst performers in Europe in terms of residential energy use and CO2 emissions per person. Residential emissions in Belgium were 1.34 tonnes on average per year in 2019, which is much higher than the country’s neighbors and nearly double the average for Europe. By 2050, greenhouse gas emissions must be at least 80% lower than they were in 1990 in order to achieve the climate targets, which means that residential CO2 emissions, which currently average 1.34 tonnes per person, must drop to roughly 0.30 tonnes.

Another reason why it is harder for Belgium to build climate-neutral houses, according to ING, is because the country has relatively more open and semi-open buildings. Flats often use less energy than houses since they have more shared walls. Less surface area comes into touch with the ambient air as a result, reducing heat loss. Furthermore, flats are often a little smaller than houses, which means there are fewer spaces that need to be heated. Belgium now has the third-lowest proportion of flats in Europe, making up only 22.3% of the total housing stock. Only the Netherlands (17.5%) and Ireland (9.8%) have a lower percentage of Flats. However, compared to the Netherlands, Belgium has a disproportionately higher proportion of four-fronted homes, where heat loss is obviously also more likely than in closed or semi-open structures.

While all European Union nations must work toward the same goal of having all of their building stock climate-neutral by 2050, Belgium will have to make extra efforts to achieve this objective. Therefore, the government has enforced a “renovation obligation” since January 1, 2023. This means that homes with energy label E or F must be renovated to label D within five years. This has been enforced with the objective of achieving that every Belgian home is climate neutral by 2050. In Belgium there are a lot of renovation subsidies and with the value of retention of a climate neutral home it is hoped that the people see it as in investment to build or renovate in a climate neutral way. 

Still, it is encouraging to see the initiatives undertaken by Belgian companies and the formation of alliances like the Belgian Alliance for Sustainable Construction (ba4sc), which set as their mission to “accelerate the transition to sustainable, forward-looking, climate-proof construction.” Many partners have come together to exchange knowledge and cooperate through the use of a platform and a common agenda for all participating companies. The association has set 3 primary objectives, which are: 

1. Sharing knowledge of good practices and initiatives as much nationally and internationally
2. Engaging in constructive and efficient dialogue with public authorities
3. Aiming for the standardization and integration of sustainable standards within the construction sector

Other common efforts from Belgian companies can be witnessed through their participation to the upcoming Climate Tech forum in Brussels, aiming four different sectors, including sustainable construction. By participating in this event, they offer support to the cause, help raise awareness and share valuable knowledge. Furthermore, their involvement opens doors to potential collaborations with new partners, aiming to accelerate the overall progress of the transition.