All buildings in the EU will have to be emission-free by 2050, member states have agreed on binding targets. But it will be up to each country to devise a strategy to achieve this
– From 2030, all newly built homes will have to be “zero-emission buildings”. Such buildings will have very low energy intensity and zero carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels (mainly coal and natural gas) on site.
– The average energy consumption of all existing residential buildings will need to be reduced by 16% by 2030 and by 20-22% by 2033, through high quality overall renovations.
– By 2050, all buildings in the EU will have to reach zero-emission levels. Member States have agreed to include in their national building renovation plans a plan “to phase out the use of fossil fuel boilers by 2040” also for existing buildings.
– From 1 January 2025, EU countries will not provide any subsidies for the installation of “stand-alone” fossil fuel boilers.
On Friday 8 December 2023, members of the European Parliament, national governments and the European Commission concluded an agreement on the new Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The basis for this agreement was the position negotiated under the Czech Presidency, which, although not as ambitious as the original proposals of the Commission and Parliament, is workable and can be adapted by each Member State to its specific conditions. The target remains to achieve carbon neutrality of the entire building stock by 2050.
Michal Čejka, energy saving consultant at the Passive House Centre, said: “The directive only defines targets and essential milestones, but the real setting will now be up to the Czech Republic. The agreement provides a very good basis on which we can build a truly workable building renovation strategy that will benefit both citizens and the state through the economic recovery of the construction industry. However, we must not waste this opportunity at national level, which unfortunately often happens to us when implementing European directives into Czech legislation.”
New emission-free buildings.
According to the agreed text of the directive, all newly constructed buildings will be “zero-emission buildings” from 2030. They are defined by very low energy intensity, zero carbon emissions from fossil fuels on site and zero or very low greenhouse gas emissions from their operation. The new rules will start to apply in 2028 for the public sector and from 2030 for all buildings.
Vítězslav Malý, director of the Passive House Centre, said: “Although at first glance the requirements may sound strict, this is not the case. Today’s construction industry is well prepared for zero-emission buildings, we know how to get to the carbon neutrality target. It’s just a further move towards the most energy efficient standard, i.e. buildings with a well-insulated envelope complemented by efficient technologies such as heat pumps, waste heat recovery, air handling units with heat recovery or photovoltaics. Such buildings are already standing in many places in the Czech Republic and represent the best protection against energy crises.”
Faster pace of renovation
Housing stock.
According to the directive, investment will be directed primarily towards renovating the existing building stock, with a particular focus on the worst performing buildings. The draft law requires EU member states to renovate buildings to achieve a 16% reduction in the average energy consumption of the housing stock by 2030 and then between 20-22% by 2035. Up to 55% of this target is to be achieved by renovating the least efficient buildings. These are defined as the worst 43% of residential buildings in a given Member State.
Public buildings.
The energy efficiency requirements for non-domestic buildings such as schools, offices and other public buildings have been retained from the original Commission and Parliament proposal. Under the framework set out, 16% of the worst performing non-domestic buildings need to be renovated by 2030, rising to 26% of the stock by 2033.
Rental housing
In addition, Member States will need to provide safeguards for tenants, such as financial measures to incentivise landlords to renovate, as well as funding targeted at vulnerable groups and the worst performing buildings.
“To achieve the energy savings in buildings that we and other European countries have negotiated in the Directive, we need to focus on comprehensive renovations. This means combining high-quality insulation of the building envelope and well-sealed triple-glazed windows with the installation of efficient technologies using renewable energy sources. Such renovation of buildings will ensure long-term savings and is also the most advantageous from an economic point of view for both the builder and the state,” adds Michal Čejka, energy savings consultant from the Passive House Centre.
He adds: “The Passive House Centre also proposes the introduction of so-called renovation passports. The renovation passport would define the individual steps for a high-quality comprehensive renovation that leads to maximum energy savings at a conceptual level. The builder could also implement it in parts, but these would build on each other and not block each other.”
Support programmes will play a key role in accelerating renovations, and in the residential sector the New Green Savings Programme. It will therefore need to be updated and aligned with a clearly defined goal of a zero-emission building sector in 2050.
The state should also support the creation of one-stop shops that will clearly direct builders, help them with pre-project preparation and selecting a subsidy programme.
Pavel Zemene, chairman of the Association of EPS CR, says: “If we want to meet the energy saving targets in the just approved directive, we will have to accelerate the pace of building renovation by two to three times. This also means moving towards quality projects, as insulating with less than 18-20 cm of insulation does not make sense at this time. The state must now set up a predictable and stable environment in which we will be able to meet the demand for these measures in the long term.”
Tracking the entire life cycle of a building.
Provisions to measure and disclose the whole life carbon emissions of new buildings will also come into force from 2030. Life cycle assessment (GWP) of global warming potential (GWP) has so far operated at a rather academic level in the Czech Republic. However, we will need to incorporate it into our building regulations and at the same time keep it understandable for the lay public. In the future, energy efficiency specialists and building material manufacturers will become more involved in this area.
End of sales of coal and gas boilers.
The Directive also sets 2040 as the target date for national governments to phase out the use of fossil fuel boilers. They will also no longer be subsidised from 2025.
Solar panels.
Under the agreement, requirements for new public and non-residential buildings to be equipped with rooftop solar installations will be phased in from 2027. The architect or designer will therefore be forced to adapt the design to the use of solar energy if it is “technically, economically and functionally feasible”.
Next steps.
Before the agreement becomes final, it must be approved by the European Parliament and national governments in the European Council, a step usually considered a mere formality. National authorities will now have to transpose the text of the EPBD into their legislation, a process that usually takes around 2 years.
Source: CTK
