A strong mandate to increase energy efficiency in buildings

The Report on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) adopted by the European Parliament provides welcome improvements to the European Commission proposal. Co-legislators now need to ensure the final Directive is in line with the EU Renovation Wave’s objectives.

A year after the start of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Europe is finally making progress on structural measures to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and durably shelter its citizens and businesses from energy price hikes. Following the agreement on the Energy Efficiency Directive last week, the adoption of the Parliament’s report on the EPBD is another step in the right direction.

The European Parliament’s Report is a balanced position, bringing cautious improvements to the Commission Proposal. The text maintains a clear roadmap for owners and industry players for the next 10 years, agreeing to introduce Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and a more reliable, rescaled Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) scheme.

A few important provisions have also been improved: the roll out of the Zero Emission Building standard is slightly accelerated and the text now encourages the uptake of new financial instruments.