The Autonomous Region of the Azores will start applying EU Directive regarding the energy certification of buildings
On Thursday, in the city of Horta, the Regional Secretary for the Environment and the Sea said that the Azores has opted for the "direct transposition" of the EU Directive 2002/91/CE, which concerns the energy certification of buildings.
Álamo Meneses, speaking in the Parliament of the Azores, said that, given the specificities of the islands, it does not make sense to transpose this EU environmental laws into regional legislation through "mere adaptations" to laws already decreed by the Government of the Republic of Portugal.
He said that the Regional Government of the Azores is already preparing a regional legislative proposal, to be submitted to the Regional Parliament, that will enable the transposition into the regional jurisdictional regime of the EU directive concerning the energy certification of buildings.
He added that, until then, the Regional Government will publish a decree whose purpose will to be to extend the deadline for the application of these new rules.
He said that what matters is that the transposition of the EU directive into regional legislation be accomplished with "balance and justice" ad that it may favour "solutions based in the use of electrical energy", unlike mainland Portugal.
The Secretary also said that the transposition of this EU directive is a "good opportunity for the Azores to improve the energetic performance of its buildings" and, consequently, to save energy.
EU Directive 2002/91/CE imposes on Member-States the obligation to emit energy certificates to buildings, real estate transactions, remodelling of existing housing buildings as well as to all industry or service buildings greater than one thousand square meters.
This EU Directive was transposed to national legislation in April of 2006, through the promulgation of Decrees N 78/2006 (National System of Energy Certification and Interior Air Quality-SCE); 79/2006 (Regulation of Air Condition Energy Systems); and, 80/2006 ( Regulation of Thermal Behaviour Characteristics in Buildings, RCCTE).