On Wednesday 15 December, the European Commission adopted its proposal to revise the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2018/844) with the dual ambition of achieving a zero-emission and fully decarbonised European building stock by 2050 while fighting energy poverty.
In particular, the proposal introduces EU-wide minimum energy performance standards for the 15% of buildings identified by each Member State as the worst performing in their building stock (G-index).
According to the text presented, public and non-residential buildings will have to be renovated and upgraded to at least energy performance level F by 2027 and at least level E by 2030. Residential buildings will have to be retrofitted from G to at least F by 2030, and to at least E by 2033.
“Our proposal does not contain any prohibition on selling or renting buildings that will be classified as Class G. It leaves it up to the Member States to decide how to enforce the minimum standard”, said Frans Timmermans, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President responsible for the European Green Deal.
As regards higher energy performance indices, the Commission wants to leave enough flexibility to Member States. However, they should set specific timetables for achieving these indices through new national building renovation plans, in line with the objective of achieving a zero-emissions building stock by 2050.
They are also entitled to set national energy efficiency standards in accordance with their national renovation plans.
Financial support
According to the Commission, the renovation from G to F would apply to about 30 million building units.
In order to avoid an additional burden on the most vulnerable households who typically live in buildings with a low energy performance index, the Commission will help finance the initial investment costs for these units, with up to €150 billion of the EU budget available to implement minimum energy performance standards by 2030.
New zero-emission buildings
For new buildings, the Commission wants to require that 100% of on-site energy consumption is covered by renewables from 2030, where technically feasible, with earlier adoption (from 2027) for public buildings.
Member States would also be required to plan policies and measures for the complete elimination of fossil fuel use in buildings by 2040.
A legal basis for the phasing-out of fossil fuel boilers
As the lifetime of heating systems is around 20 years, the proposal also states that fossil fuel boilers will no longer be eligible for public support from 2027.
However, it does not set a date for an EU-wide phase-out of these boilers, but introduces a legal basis to allow Member States who so wish to set requirements for heat generators based on greenhouse gas emissions or the type of fuel used.
This should help these countries to phase out fossil fuel boilers at national level.
The proposal also introduces various instruments (some of which were detailed in our columns - see EUROPE 12841/4) such as a model energy performance certificate with a minimum number of common European indicators on energy and greenhouse gas emissions and “renovation passports”.
It also provides a definition of the concept of “deep renovation”. This makes it possible to target renovation projects that lead to significant energy savings by providing them with greater financial incentives and technical assistance measures.
See the proposal: https://bit.ly/3m9xHQB (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)