The European Commission has adopted the EU’s new circular economy action plan, a major part of the European Green deal. The action plan aims to make the EU economy produce more durable, longerlasting, repairable consumer products, and maximise the use of recycled material.

The Scottish and Welsh governments have pledged to implement a landmark EU policy that requires all new buildings to be nearly zero energy buildings (nZEBs), while England and Northern Ireland may follow suit, an investigation by Passive House Plus has revealed.

Motivated by the experience of building and living in a passive house, one of Ireland’s leading political figures has become a public advocate for the standard. Passive House Plus visited the house to find out why.

Europe's electricity grid needs a radical overhaul if it is to distribute the renewable energy capacity that governments have committed to building by 2020, according to Europe's leading science academies.

In this special feature, Construct Ireland draws from the views, hopes and concerns of four people ideally poised to comment on the implications this directive will have on how we design, construct, renovate, manage and think about buildings in Ireland.

In the aftermath of our recent awareness raising, Construct Ireland began to research what measures the Irish government was taking to prepare for the Energy directive, and how this compared with views from other EU member states, an investigation that is revealing startling results. Jeff Colley reports.

Feasta Economist Richard Douthwaite on Greenhouse Emissions and the Oil Peak

Construct Ireland Journalist Frank Coles investigates the impact posed by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive