Members of the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) adopted by a large majority (57 votes in favour, eight against and 11 abstentions) on Monday evening (6 July) the draft own-initiative report by Ciarán Cuffe (Greens/EFA, Ireland) on maximising the energy efficiency potential of the EU's housing stock.
In particular, the report calls for the post-Covid-19 economic recovery plan to prioritise investment in the renovation of buildings, with the aim of creating a highly energy-efficient and carbon-free building stock by 2050.
“When you consider the amount of jobs we can create as we recover from the impact of Covid-19 by making buildings healthier while also contributing to climate neutrality [...], increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and the renovation rate in Europe is a win-win for all”, Mr Cuffe told us.
Regarding investment, the document estimates that at least €75 billion per year is needed in total EU incentives to ensure energy efficiency in the building stock by 2050, in addition to continued and stable financing at European, national and regional level, as well as private investments.
It therefore calls for the financing of energy efficiency in buildings to be prioritised under the ‘sustainable infrastructure’ window of InvestEU.
For an ambitious ‘Renovation Wave’. The report also illustrates the willingness of the European Parliament to take a strong stance in anticipation of the European Commission's 'Renovation Wave' initiative planned for the third quarter of this year (see EUROPE 12484/16), according to Mr Cuffe.
In order to facilitate the renovation of buildings in the EU, the report therefore recommends a number of measures.
In particular, it advocates the generalisation of digital ‘Building Renovation Passports’ to make them a common European tool by 2025.
Aimed at gathering all the information on the energy performance of a building, these passports should be aligned with existing certification of the energy performance of buildings and adapted to national and regional specificities to meet the challenges posed by the heterogeneity of the building stock, the report stresses.
MEPs also call on the Commission to develop a new instrument, called the ‘EU Climate Calculator’, which would aim to ensure “an accurate and easy understandable labelling for building materials, products and services related to the renovation of the EU building stock towards 2050 ” to enable EU citizens, industries and SMEs to know their impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
Lastly, they call for the establishment of a legislative framework introducing minimum energy performance standards for existing buildings that would be progressively strengthened over time.
The European Parliament plenary vote on this own-initiative report is scheduled for September.
To consult the compromise amendment (the consolidated text of the amended report is not yet available): https://bit.ly/3e3Te6l (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)