On 25 October 2022 the Council reached an agreement (general approach) on the EC proposal to revise the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The main objectives of the revision are that all new buildings should be zero-emission buildings by 2030, and that existing buildings should be transformed into zero-emission buildings by 2050.
As regards new buildings, the Council agreed that from 2028 new buildings owned by public bodies would be zero-emission buildings and from 2030 all new buildings would be zero-emission buildings. Exceptions will be possible for some buildings, including historical buildings, places of worship and buildings used for defence purposes.
For existing buildings, member states agreed to introduce minimum energy performance standards that would correspond to the maximum amount of primary energy that buildings can use per m2 annually. The purpose is to trigger renovations and lead to a gradual phase-out of the worst-performing buildings and a continuous improvement of the national building stock.
For existingnon-residential buildings, member states agreed to set maximum energy performance thresholds, based on primary energy use. A first threshold would draw a line below the primary energy use of 15% of the worst-performing non-residential buildings in a member state. A second threshold would be set below 25%.
Member states agreed to bring all non-residential buildingsbelow the 15% threshold by 2030 and below the 25% threshold by 2034.
The thresholds would be set based on the energy use of the national building stock on 1 January 2020 and may be differentiated between different building categories.
For existing residential buildings, member states agreed to set minimum energy performance standards based on a national trajectory in line with the progressive renovation of their building stock into a zero-emission building stock by 2050, as outlined in their national building renovation plans.
This proposal is the basis for the negotiations with the European Parliament and the development of a formal text. The amendment of the EPBD is of particular importance due to the large impact of energy consumption and gas emissions of buildings. It also introduces new possibilities for the Renovation Wave Strategy of 2020, which seeks to bring regulatory and financing measures in order to double the energy renovation rate of buildings by 2030.
For more information, please visit the European Council’s press release on the proposal and see the review the proposal here.
For further information on the current status of procedures in the European Parliament please see the legislative observatory