Aberdeen City Council is hosting a two-day meeting this week as part of an EU project which focuses on reducing carbon emissions through energy-efficient building design.

Experts from the North Sea Region including Sweden, Germany and Brussels will be in attendance to discuss this important issue at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on May 13 and 14.

The Build with CaRe (Carbon Reduction) project aims to mainstream energy-efficient building design across northern Europe. Aberdeen City Council, along with local and regional authorities, universities and institutes from 10 regions in five countries in the North Sea region are taking part in the three-year Build with CaRe project.

The council is leading on the planning and policy part of the project. The delegates are architects, policy makers and planners, all of whom have a background in low carbon building design.

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The challenge to reduce the human impact on climate change is now widely recognised and has been strongly prioritised by the EU. The EU has committed to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% of 1990 levels by 2020, provided other developed countries commit to making comparable reductions under a global agreement.

The buildings sector accounts for 40% of the EU's energy requirements and offers the largest single potential for energy efficiency. Despite tested and available technologies and pricing (in many European countries lower operating costs mean that building in an energy efficient manner is less expensive), energy use in the built environment continues to be higher than necessary.

There have been examples of energy-efficient design for more than two decades. Interest in and demand for low-energy buildings has increased over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, such buildings are not yet mainstream as the the building industry still regards them as 'unknown quantities,' with prices that reflect risk.

Building an energy-efficient building or house is not only beneficial to the environment, it also makes economic sense as the less energy used results in smaller fuel bills. Not only that, you are protected from climbing energy prices and the issue of energy security.

Build with CaRe is part of the Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme and is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

(GK/JM)