With this Communication, released in February 2016, the European Commission presents the first strategy to optimise buildings' and industries' heating and cooling in order to tackle the massive use of energy, particularly fossil fuels, in the sector. Heating and cooling accounts for 50% of the energy consumption in the European Union, and renewables account for just 18% of this.

The International Energy Policy & Programme Evaluation Conference was held on 7-9 June 2016 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The purpose of the conference is to provide a forum for the presentation, critique and discussion of objective evaluations, as well as for experience sharing about evaluation practices. The conference aims at gathering new ideas, inputs for current and upcoming debates, experience feedback and lessons learnt about all the stages of evaluations (preparation, realisation, analysis of results, evaluation use).

European legislation makes nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (nZEBs) a standard by 2020. The technology is available and proven; however, the large-scale uptake of nZEB construction and renovation remains a challenge. ZEBRA2020 monitored the market uptake of nZEBs across Europe and provided data and knowledge on how to reach the nZEB standard. This information was structured and analysed to derive recommendations. ZEBRA2020 covers 17 European countries and almost 90% of the EU/EEA building stock and population.

The purpose of the framework is to create a clear and coherent climate policy.

The Green Building Council of Australia with the Property Council of Australia, Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH), Energy Efficiency Council, Facilities Management Association of Australia, City of Sydney, City of Melbourne and CitySwitch have produced a policy framework addressing the potential opportunities presented by increasing the energy efficiency requirements for mid-tier buildings.

The global buildings sector is responsible for 30% of final energy consumption and more than 55% of global electricity demand. Progress towards sustainable buildings is advancing, but improvements are still not keeping up with a growing buildings sector and rising demand for energy services. The buildings and buildings construction sectors combined are responsible for 36% of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions.