EU agrees on new energy requirements for buildings - no refurbishment obligation
According to the EU Parliament, the agreement reached on Thursday evening stipulates that all new buildings should be climate-neutral from 2030. For publicly owned buildings, this will already apply from 2028, while the entire building stock is also to be climate-neutral by 2050.
"We need to help citizens save money and protect them from fluctuating energy prices," explained the responsible rapporteur Ciarán Cuffe. "That is why we have chosen a path that can reduce energy bills for everyone, homeowners and tenants alike."
The Commission proposal had caused quite a stir in Germany. It envisaged mandatory refurbishment for the buildings with the poorest energy performance. The German government had long been in favor of this, but backed away from it in the course of the debate on the Building Energy Act.
Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) now declared on Friday that the compromise reached in Brussels "is based on reality and does not overburden either the family in a detached house in the countryside or the master baker with a small bakery and salesroom". She advocates "that we renovate schools, fire stations and other public facilities first". Everyone would benefit from this.
The homeowners' association Haus & Grund expressed its relief; homeowners would now have the "necessary flexibility" to convert their buildings by 2045. A refurbishment obligation would have "led to a massive drop in value, loss of assets and numerous distress sales". This danger is now off the table.
In order to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, the association spoke out in favor of CO2 pricing with the revenue being returned to citizens in the form of climate money. This would be "the simplest, cheapest and most effective way".
The Federal Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies advised a neighborhood approach instead of a "narrow focus on the renovation of individual buildings". Bringing entire residential districts up to scratch in terms of energy efficiency with the most sensible and cost-effective measures is "achievable in an affordable way". Geywitz also explained: "We will meet the climate targets, for example by including entire neighborhoods and not each individual building."
The EU agreement provides for the general target of reducing average energy consumption in the building sector by at least 16% by 2030 and at least 22% by 2035 compared to 2020. Although the focus is to be on the worst renovated buildings to date, achieving the target is largely the responsibility of the respective member states. Only for non-residential buildings does the requirement remain that the 16% of the worst renovated buildings must be renovated by 2033.
The environmental organization BUND sharply criticized the agreement: the heart of the directive has been "degraded to a bedside rug". This is socially and ecologically unacceptable. "Because the buildings with the worst energy performance are fueling the climate crisis and energy poverty." Heating costs are significantly higher in poorly renovated buildings, which are often home to the economically weakest.
The EU agreement also provides for an obligation to install solar systems if this makes technical and economic sense. Heating systems that run on fossil fuels are to be replaced by 2040. From 2025, the installation of gas or oil heating systems, for example, will no longer be eligible for financial support. However, financial incentives for the installation of a hybrid solution are possible if the gas boiler is operated together with a solar thermal system or a heat pump, for example.
The agreement still has to be finally approved by the Parliament and the Council of the Member States. According to the EU Commission, buildings are responsible for 40 percent of energy consumption and 36 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.
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- Despite the agreed-upon new energy requirements for new buildings in the EU, there's no obligation for remediation of existing buildings themselves.
- The EU Parliament agrees that all new buildings should become climate-neutral by 2030, with a 5-year advancement for publicly-owned buildings.
- The German Federal Government, following SPD's Klara Geywitz, stated that the Brussels agreement focuses on upgrading public facilities, fostering climate neutrality without overburdening homeowners or small businesses.
- The compromise reached in Brussels alleviates concerns from the German homeowners' association Haus & Grund, as it eliminates the risk of a refurbishment obligation inducing a drop in property values.
- For Germany, achieving climate neutrality by 2045, the association advocates the introduction of CO2 pricing with the revenue returned to citizens as climate money, reducing energy bills and addressing climate change.
- European businesses could benefit from a neighborhood approach to energy-efficient improvements, upgrading entire districts with the most affordable and cost-effective methods, acknowledged Geywitz and industry associations.
- The EU agreement includes an obligation to install solar systems if technically and economically feasible, with a phasing out of fossil fuel heating systems by 2040, as well as financial incentives for hybrid solutions.
- In an attempt to effectively reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the agreement targets at least 16% reduction in average energy consumption in the building sector by 2030, determined primarily by the respective member states.
- To comply with the new energy requirements and climate targets, the obligation to retrofit non-residential buildings with the worst energy performance remains in place, with a deadline of 2033, regardless of each member state's contributions.
Source: www.stern.de
