Multiple benefits of renovation in buildings - PU Europe

Multiple benefits of investing in energy
efficient renovation of buildings
the scenario). This loss of tax revenue is not a loss to society as a whole, since it is a transfer
from governments to consumers. However, it still counts against the benefits to public
budgets which we find elsewhere in this report.
Figure 9 Reduced tax revenue from energy taxes
€ bn
16
2012-2020 2020-2030
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
5.2
7.2
9.7
13.8
0
Low EE scenario High EE scenario Low EE scenario High EE scenario
Public revenue loss
Note:
The calculation is based on an average electricity tax in EU, and the excise duties on natural gas and
coal for heating use in business and non-business for Germany. While the Member States’ electricity
taxation and excise duties on heat varies greatly, our calculations can be used as an approximate average
for EU as a whole.
Source: Copenhagen Economics based on DG Energy (2010), DG TAXUD (2012)
Reduced outlay on government subsidies
In several EU Member States, government subsidies are being allocated both to consumption
of energy through e.g. fuel tax reductions/exemptions, and to deployment of renewable
energy technologies that cannot yet compete without government subsidies. While
some Member States subsidise production of energy, the majority of these subsidies are
related to the winding down of coal fired power plants. 17 Such subsidies are not related to
the level of energy consumption, and are therefore not expected to be reduced by reduced
energy consumption from increased energy efficient renovation of buildings.
We find that the outlay on energy consumption subsidies in nine large EU countries correspond
to about €11.7 billion annually. 18 By reducing energy consumption through energy
efficient renovation of buildings according to the potentials identified in our two scenarios,
we find that these governments can reduce outlays on subsidies by €0.7 – 1.1 billion
annually in 2020 (low and high scenario), cf. Figure 10.
Additionally, by reducing energy consumption, the target of 20 per cent renewable energy
by 2020 can be achieved at reduced costs for governments. In particular, EU governments
can reduce outlays on subsidies to renewable energy deployment annually by €7.1 billion
17 See OECD (2011c)
18 Estimate is based on data from OECD (2011c).
17