EU Directive proposal for the Energy performance of buildings

Last updated: 11 March 2022

The European Commission presented a proposal for a EU Directive on the revision of the energy performance of the buildings directive. As the buildings sector contributes to 36% of the GHG emissions of the EU, the decarbonisation of this sector is critical to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The first proposal is for new buildings, by 2030, to be zero-emission. The deadline is 2027 for the public sector. Zero-emission buildings make use of renewable energy, consume less energy, and do not produce emissions from fossil fuels.

Building's energy efficiency reduces energy bills as well, decreasing energy poverty. The lowest 15 percent of worst-performing buildings in each Member States will be renovated to reach a certain level of energy performance. In fact, Energy Performance Certificates, documents that provide information about the buildings’ energy consumption, will be mandatory for new and renovated buildings. Finally, Member States will be allowed to legally ban fossil fuels equipment, such as fossil fuels boilers, of which the installation will no longer receive financial incentives by 2027. 

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