Meeting in Luxembourg, the Energy Ministers of the European Union Member States reached a political agreement ('general approach') on the revision of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) on Tuesday 25 October, despite reservations from several delegations.
The aim of the review is to achieve a fully decarbonised and zero-emission EU building stock by 2050.
Following various amendments to the Commission’s proposal presented in December 2021 (see EUROPE 12854/13), the EU Council has in particular retained the provision that new buildings must be zero-emission from 2030. However, it postponed the date for new buildings owned by public bodies by one year (from 2027 to 2028), while introducing exceptions for certain buildings (places of worship, historic buildings, buildings used for defence purposes, etc.).
For existing buildings, a distinction is made between non-residential and residential buildings.
Non-residential buildings
For the former, Member States have agreed to set maximum energy performance thresholds, based on primary energy consumption. A first threshold would be set below the primary energy consumption of 15% of the worst performing non-residential buildings in a Member State. A second threshold would be set below 25%. All non-residential buildings should be below the 15% threshold by 2030 and below the 25% threshold by 2034, according to the general approach.
The thresholds would be set according to the energy consumption of the national building stock on 1 January 2020 and may be differentiated according to building category.
Compliance with the thresholds by individual buildings would be verified on the basis of energy performance certificates or, where appropriate, other available means.
The text also provides for the possibility for Member States to establish criteria for exempting individual buildings from the thresholds, taking into account the intended future use of the building or in the case of an unfavourable cost-benefit assessment.
Residential buildings
In the case of existing residential buildings, Member States agreed to set minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) based on a national trajectory corresponding to the progressive renovation of their building stock to a zero-emission stock by 2050, as indicated in their national building renovation plans.
The national trajectory should include two checkpoints, in 2033 and 2040.
Member States should ensure that the average primary energy consumption of their entire housing stock is at least equivalent to the level of energy performance class D by 2033.
By 2040, it should be at least equivalent to “a nationally determined value derived from a gradual decrease in average primary energy consumption between 2033 and 2050, in line with the transformation of the housing stock to a zero-emission housing stock”.
In addition, Member States want to introduce a new ‘A0’ category for zero-emission buildings in the energy performance certificates. The text allows them to add an ‘A+’ category for zero-emission buildings that supply on-site renewable energy to the energy grid.
On the basis of the Commission’s proposals in the framework of the ‘REPowerEU’ plan, the Council also agreed to ensure the installation of appropriate solar energy technologies: - on all new public and non-residential buildings with a floor area of more than 250 m2 by 31 December 2026; - on all existing public and non-residential buildings undergoing major or deep renovation and with a floor area of more than 400 m2 by 31 December 2027; - on all new residential buildings by 31 December 2029.
Six Member States call for more ambition
Chairing the meeting, the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, welcomed the compromise: “The agreement reached today will help citizens to make substantial energy savings. Better and more energy efficient buildings will improve citizens’ quality of life while bringing down their energy bills and alleviating energy poverty”.
However, several countries criticised the compromise text proposed by the Czech Presidency of the EU Council ahead of the meeting, and finally approved, as being too unambitious.
“What we have in front of us is not enough to launch the wave of renovation that the EU so badly needs, and that is a pity”, said Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy Rob Jetten.
“France supports this text because we need to move forward and we cannot afford to delay the adoption of the text, but I propose to attach a statement in the sense of greater ambition in the Council minutes in view of the preparation and negotiation in trilogues (discussions with the European Parliament and the Commission)”, said his French counterpart, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
At the end of the meeting, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Ireland issued a joint statement stressing that “minimum energy performance standards need to be strengthened in order to be more effective and to align the directive with our common climate ambition for 2050”.
In particular, they criticise the exemptions for non-residential buildings.
Croatia decided to abstain, deploring a lack of flexibility in the provisions on MEPS for non-residential buildings. In a statement, Zagreb said the proposed method of implementation “is inappropriate to Croatia's specific circumstances”, including the fact that the country suffered “devastating earthquakes” in 2020.
As the Parliament has not yet adopted its position on the dossier, the trilogues will not start before the beginning of the Swedish Presidency of the Council (January 2023), said Síkela.
See the general approach: https://aeur.eu/f/3rz; https://aeur.eu/f/3ry
See the declaration of the six Member States: https://aeur.eu/f/3s1; that of Croatia: https://aeur.eu/f/3s0 (Damien Genicot)