On Tuesday 17 April, the European Parliament approved, by 546 votes to 35, with 96 abstentions, the final text of the revised directive on the energy performance of buildings, born of the inter-institutional agreement concluded under the Estonian Presidency on 19 December 2017 (see EUROPE 11929).
The amendments to the text agreed in trialogue include measures to reinforce the energy performance of new buildings, speed up the refurbishment of existing buildings to make them lower-energy and tap the enormous energy efficiency potential of the construction sector, which uses 40% of all primary energy consumed in Europe.
The MEPs have set a target of virtually zero energy consumption of buildings in Europe by 2050.
The revised directive requires the member states to put together long-term national strategies to support a low-cost refurbishment of public and private buildings, to reduce emissions in the EU by 80% to 85% compared to 1990 levels.
The national strategies will include roadmaps to decarbonise the building stock by 2050, with interim targets for 2030 and 2040. Measurable progress indicators will be set in place to monitor their implementation.
The revised directive also brings in electro-mobility requirements for new buildings and those undergoing major refurbishment, such as at least one electric vehicle recharging point in buildings with more than ten parking spaces and the installation of the necessary cabling infrastructure for recharging.
The text also includes new tools such as the 'smartness indicator', which is used to measure the state of preparedness of buildings to improve their functioning and interaction with the network, by adapting energy consumption to the actual needs of the occupier. The Commission will develop this concept by the end of 2019.
Finally, new and existing buildings in which heat generators are replaced must be fitted with temperature self-regulating mechanisms. The rules on the control of heating and air conditioning systems have been tightened up.
Once it has been approved by the Council of Ministers, the text will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force 20 days after its publication. The transposition period for the new rules into national legislation will be 20 months. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)