Filenews 11 November 2024 - by Angelos Nikolaou
From 2030 all new buildings must be zero-emission buildings, while new public buildings must be zero-emission from 2028. An ambitious goal that is set, which involves a high risk of deviation of its implementation. Making this possible requires increasing the annual energy upgrades of buildings from 1,000 now to 3,000 in 2030.
Buildings are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of direct and indirect energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. The EU is working to revise the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive to make buildings in the EU more energy efficient by 2030 and beyond.
The main objectives of the new rules are for all new buildings to be zero-emission by 2030, as well as for existing buildings to be converted to zero-emission buildings by 2050.
The Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry is taking the initiative to achieve the energy efficiency targets of buildings. The revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is part of the Fit for 55 package and sets out a vision to achieve a net-zero emissions building stock by 2050. The main measures to be adopted by the Directive are the following:
1) Creation of a National Renovation Plan that will review the building stock, implemented and planned policies and measures and include a roadmap until 2050 in order to comply with the requirements for climate and energy neutrality.
2) Identification of the building stock with the worst energy performance in order to implement measures for its progressive renovation in accordance with the National Renovation Plan.
3) From 2030 all new buildings must be zero-emission buildings, while new public buildings must be zero-emission already by 2028.
The problems faced in the implementation in the case of renovations are the shortage of technical staff, the lack of funding in low-income households and SMEs and the difficulty of decision-making in rented and multi-family buildings.
It is noted that many of the measures recorded in the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), and in particular in the Long-Term Building Renovation Strategy, aim to improve the energy performance of the building sector. However, achieving the new, more ambitious measures set by the recast of the Directive will require a review of regulatory measures, policies and incentives.
Important measures in the field of renovation (on which the Directive focuses) have been identified by technical assistance provided on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 2023.
These concern:
1. Creation of a database with the main characteristics of each building used for the issuance of the Energy Performance Certificate. This will improve transparency and provide useful information for potential buyers, tenants and real estate agents.
2. The evaluation of the financial assistance programmes implemented in recent years has been delayed. It needs to be carried out as soon as possible, to understand the type of household owners who benefited (and their income bracket) and the timeframe in which a renovation grant is requested.
3. Consider redesigning financial support schemes for building renovations, also on the basis of the assessment mentioned above, in order to improve the targeting of suitable buildings (e.g. apartment buildings) and encourage energy renovations instead of allowing simple installation of PV that does not improve the energy performance of a building.
4. Communication campaigns on building renovations in the residential and service sector should also be reviewed, in the light of the findings of behavioural analyses.
5. Policymakers should consider non-monetary incentives for energy renovations in order to make them easier and less burdensome for building owners. These can also result from behavioural analyses.
6. Vulnerable households need tailor-made and better targeted building renovation programmes, in line with recommendations to tackle energy poverty.
Specific analysis on additional renovations
Especially for energy renovations in buildings, a specific analysis was carried out on the additional building renovations necessary to enable energy savings. For this purpose, data collected by the Ministry of Energy were used on:
– The number of renovation works granted so far.
– The estimated final energy savings per renovation.
– The aid intensity per category of renovation, i.e. the percentage of the total investment covered by the public grant depending on whether it is full or partial renovations, aid to "normal" or vulnerable households, etc.
An estimate was then made of the amount of renovations to be financially supported by 2030. It found that additional public funds of up to €100 million should be made available by 2030 for renovations of private homes, as well as buildings in the public sector and private businesses. The total investments mobilized can exceed €200 million. Such measures, in the form of both direct public investment and support programmes to the private sector, will also include the installation of photovoltaic panels – but the bulk of these funds will have to be allocated to energy efficiency actions.
These funds correspond to around 3000 building renovations per year – in private homes, businesses, the public sector and vulnerable households – for each year until 2030. This requires a strong acceleration of current building renovation rates from the current 1000.
