Safeguarding energy security in South-East Europe with investment in demand-side infrastructure

International developments over the past few years have intensified the energy challenges facing Central and Southern European countries. The interruption of Russian gas supply via Ukraine, volatile global oil prices and divergent interests of State actors have renewed Europe’s concerns about its energy dependency.
The report explores the vulnerability of the building sector to gas supply interruptions in specific countries of the region, through the prism of the Building stock Vulnerability Indicator (BVI). The BVI takes into account the size of gas consumption in the building sector, along with the dependence on imported gas and its routes diversity.
The analysis considers an alternative approach to gas supply investments and instead proposes an “efficiency first” solution: reducing gas demand through a dedicated building renovation programme. BPIE puts forward a set of recommendations covering risk assessment and preventive measures, guidance on investment opportunities as well as on developing future EU and MS level strategies.