A Non-polluting European Parliament by 2020 with Solar Power

The ambition is to make the European Parliament, structurally and through all activities related to it, a model of environmental sustainability is an example to the rest of the European Community.

The leaders of Parliament, in fact, have already decided that from early 2009 will be the first concrete steps to ensure that by 2020 the Parliament will reduce its emissions into the atmosphere and its carbon footprint by 30%, increasing 17% emission reduction CO2 already achieved in 2008 through the introduction of the single green energy (not nuclear) in its three workplaces.

The decision follows a study, requested by the Bureau of the European Parliament to configure multiple measures to achieve this ambitious target both technological and behavioral, thereby increasing the energy efficiency of facilities using renewable energy by coordinating a change their individual and collective to reduce the daily energy needs.

Among the activities planned is to install solar panels on the roof (i.e. for hot water like those for solar pool heating) of the new building in Luxembourg, the use of geothermal heating and biomass.

In one of the buildings in Brussels was mounted a tank of 145,000 liters of rainwater (thus exploiting the rainy climate) reused for non-drinking purposes, were also installed eight solar thermal panels to heat water and offices have presence of detectors that control lighting, heating and ventilation.

In terms of transport, the European fleet of cars will be gradually replaced with hybrid vehicles.