THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ON THE “GREEN” BUILDING RENOVATIONS
The Commission on Wednesday proposed aligning building energy efficiency rules with the European Green Agreement and exempting the EU building stock from carbon emissions by 2050. The Commission’s official statement emphasized that “this proposal renovating homes, schools, hospitals, offices and other buildings across Europe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills, and improve the quality of life of millions of Europeans. The revision of the buildings ‘energy efficiency directive translates the Commission’ s ‘Wave of renovations’ strategy into concrete legislative action. It is part of the Commission ‘s proposals for a’ 55% adjustment to the implementation of the European Green Agreement and European climate legislation ‘.
As pointed out, the Commission proposes that, by 2030, all new buildings should have zero emissions, and that the potential for faster action in the public sector should be exploited. All new public buildings should have zero emissions by 2027. new minimum energy efficiency standards are proposed at EU level, requiring an upgrade of 15% of the worst-performing building stock in each Member State from level G of the energy efficiency certificate to at least level F by 2027, for non-residential buildings and by 2030 for residential buildings. This initial focus on lower-performing buildings meets the dual goal of maximizing carbon emissions and reducing energy poverty.
In addition, national building renovation plans, which will be fully integrated into national energy and climate plans, should include roadmaps for the phasing out of fossil fuels for heating and cooling by 2040 at the latest, as well as the road for the conversion of the national building stock into zero emission buildings by 2050. The new proposal introduces the “renovation passport” of a building, which offers owners a tool that facilitates planning for gradual renovations to zero emissions, while supporting the development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in residential and commercial buildings, including other measures.
“In parallel with the new package, the Commission has published a working document of its services outlining possible scenarios for the transition to a more sustainable, greener and more digital construction ecosystem, and at the same time calls on the Member States, Stakeholders in the industry and all other relevant bodies to actively participate in the co-creation of a vision for the future of the ecosystem of construction “concludes the announcement.