Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Heritage Buildings

Background

The number of historic buildings in Poland (74,000) and Croatia (2,196) is significant. The majority of them are not insulated, since the energy efficiency standards are not obligatory for historic buildings. This makes for a significant climate impact, in the long-term leading to rising operating costs and often to the abandoning and deterioration of important historic ensembles. To reduce carbon emissions and to protect cities’ built heritage, it is imperative cities develop energy standards that consider the particularities of heritage buildings. 

Project

To achieve this goal, the project interviewed stakeholders from diverse cities in Poland and Croatia to decide on relevant issues in the field. Based on these, workshops and online courses served to develop and discuss solutions and methods. Decision makers and stakeholders from six cities decided on the most promising approaches. These were disseminated via the print and electronic project publication in English, Polish and Croatian and was made available to a broad audience of city representatives, architects, and engineers. By sharing the acquired knowledge and skills, the project developed a network of energy efficiency specialists in the two target countries. 

Results

• Ninety-nine municipalities in Poland and fifty-two in Croatia received the publication “Renovation and Retrofitting of Old Buildings in Times of Climate Crisis” to support them in accelerating the renovation rate of the building stock in the cities. 

• Nearly 900 professionals were trained in dealing with renovation of heritage buildings in line with climate goals in Poland and Croatia.

• More than 13 EU countries were involved in training courses. 

Last update: April 2024