Change of direction in the directive on energy performance in European buildings called the Green Homes Directive. A new agreement has been found in Brussels on a measure that will mandate a series of renovations that will make European citizens’ buildings more energy efficient and therefore less polluting. This is an interim agreement reached in a marathon night in a Tripartite session, negotiated between the Parliament and the EU Council under the mediation of the Commission, but negotiations are ongoing and a definitive ratification has not yet been reached.
However, agreement has now been reached on the most important points for Italy. Firstly, the obligation to renovate all residential buildings to achieve at least energy performance class E by 2030 and energy performance class D by 2033 will be eliminated, and this generalized obligation will be replaced by more flexible national plans: in the text, for individual buildings based on harmonized energy classes Instead of European renovation requirements, an average approach is now called for across the entire building stock.
Member States will design Meps (Minimum Energy Performance Standards) and decide which buildings should be renovated and at what level according to their national renovation plans. National strategies will determine subsequent renovation efforts to achieve the ultimate goal of having a zero-emission building stock by 2050, while a fixed percentage of average energy savings (yet to be defined) must be achieved by 2030 and 2035 respectively. In practice, an overall reduction target will be set and it will then be up to governments to decide how to achieve it. Obviously many buildings will need to be renovated, but not all and not immediately, each manager will be able to decide whether to start with older buildings with a higher energy class or with larger and more polluting ones, public buildings.
“Ideological environmentalism, in which the entire framework of the directive has been overshadowed, has been won over by common sense,” League MEP Isabella Tovaglieri, who was part of the European Parliament team conducting negotiations with the Council, told Today.it EU. “Faced with the harsh position expressed by the EU Council, which is the expression of governments and therefore defending the interests of citizens and businesses, the Parliament was forced to retreat from the most controversial provisions that could have a devastating impact on our economy and social stability. This is also a fundamental principle of the Union “Energy certificates for buildings will remain in force today and member states will be able to define the classes independently, with a validity period of 10 years.”
However, the provision that all newly constructed buildings must be zero-emission from 2028 remains valid. “Other important results achieved include the removal from the text of the infamous green mortgages, which would make unsellable properties in the energy class lower, greatly devaluing the safe haven of many families”, adds the Member of the European Parliament. ‘Green mortgages’ are a system that provides access to subsidized credit for those who renovate their homes, and while they were originally an obligation, they are now seen as a simple incentive to financial institutions.
“Some sensitive and controversial issues will be discussed at the next tripartite session in December, such as the obligation to install solar panels on public and non-residential buildings and, in any case, sanctions for those who do not comply with these impositions, the sanctions have already been indirectly lifted. We will also fight on these issues with the aim of bringing home a complete revision of the directive continues,” Tovaglieri promises. However, the Northern Union member continues to criticize the structure of the entire provision, although he believes it has been improved: “The structure of the directive is based on the theoretical vision of environmental protection conceived in living rooms and light years away from the city. It is the reality of our real estate assets and therefore needs to be changed from top to bottom”.
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Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
