“We have achieved something remarkable this evening”, said a delighted Ciarán Cuffe (Greens/EFA, Irish), rapporteur for the European Parliament, in a press release at the end of the fourth round of interinstitutional negotiations on the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which concluded with an agreement on Thursday 7 December.
The proposal, adopted by the Commission as part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package on 15 December 2021 (see EUROPE 12854/13), proposes to define the tools needed to achieve a zero-emission building stock by 2050.
With the latest discussions between Parliament, EU Council and Commission negotiators having resulted in a number of significant advances (see EUROPE 13271/8), the provisional agreement reached on Thursday evening was eagerly awaited.
The consensus reached is that all new buildings should be emission-free from 2030. For new public buildings, the target has been brought forward to 2028.
These deadlines meet the requirements set by the EU Council (see EUROPE 13050/3), while MEPs (see EUROPE 13141/10) had argued for earlier deadlines: from 2028 for new buildings in the private sector, 2026 for those owned by public authorities.
Reductions in energy consumption and renovations. For the older housing stock, the average primary energy consumption of residential buildings should be reduced by at least 16% by 2030, and by 2035 this reduction should reach between 20 and 22%. Member States must also commit to renovating 16% of the least energy-efficient non-residential buildings by 2030 and 26% by 2033.
In addition, from 2023, Member States will take into account the global warming potential (GWP) of buildings over their entire life cycle, including the production and disposal of construction products. The maximum GWP thresholds will be defined by the Member States within a framework established at EU level.
Solar energy and the gradual elimination of fossil fuels. As for the installation of solar technologies, Member States will have to progressively deploy them in public and non-residential buildings by 2030 and in all new residential buildings from that date onwards. MEPs had proposed that all new buildings should be equipped with solar technology by 2028. For residential buildings undergoing major renovation, this deadline ran until 2032.
For fossil fuel boilers, Member States will adopt measures to phase out such equipment for heating and cooling. Total elimination is expected by 2040.
From 2025, Member States will have to stop subsidising stand-alone fossil fuel boilers, with possible incentives for hybrid systems.
MEPs had adopted a slightly different position: the use of fossil fuels in the heating systems of new buildings or buildings undergoing major renovation was no longer to be authorised as soon as the Directive was adopted. According to Parliament, the complete elimination of these fuels was to be achieved by 2035, unless the Commission gave specific authorisation to extend this deadline to 2040.
Exemptions. Finally, there are exemptions for agricultural and heritage buildings, as well as buildings protected for their architectural or historical value, temporary buildings and churches and places of worship.
While Ciarán Cuffe felt that the agreement “tackles the root causes of energy poverty”, for Climate Action Network Europe it is “a missed opportunity to lift millions of people out of energy poverty and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels”, as stated in a press release by expert Eva Bardinelli, who considers the phase-out dates to be too late. For the CAN Europe network of NGOs, such as the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), too much flexibility is being given to the Member States, who “now hold the reins”, according to a joint statement by ECOS and the European Environmental Bureau.
The informal agreement must now be approved by Parliament and the EU Council. The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy will vote on the text on 23 January. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)