Green houses, directive in final vote What changes for boilers, renovations and solar energy
Last step for the Epbd Directive, about to be approved by the European Parliament
3' min read
3' min read
The European Green Houses directive closes its path. In the Strasbourg plenary on Tuesday, 12 March, the vote that will launch the controversial measure towards entry into force is scheduled. After two years of negotiations and exactly one year after the first green light from the European Parliament, the Energy performance of buildings directive (Epbd) will only have to make one last step, having passed the hurdle of this vote: all that is missing at this point is the formal adoption by the Council, which represents the member states. Let us see, then, what are the main contents of the directive, in its final version (barring any resounding surprises).
Restructuring
.The course of the most relevant passage of the directive, Article 9, has completely changed. If until a few weeks ago the assumption had been to indicate stringent requirements for individual buildings, leaving no room for member states, this passage has been revised, thanks also to the work of the measure's rapporteur, Irishman Ciaran Cuffe (Greens), in the name of greater flexibility.
Member countries will have to draw up plans to reduce the consumption of their residential building stock. 2020 is considered the year zero and 2050 the year in which a zero-emission building stock will have to be completed. In between, states will have to ensure a gradual improvement of the situation, but thinking on consumption averages and no longer on the efficiency class of individual buildings.
The reduction targets
.Intermediate reduction targets for the Member States' building stock will be 16% by 2030 and 20-22% by 2035. It will be up to the Member States to determine, with their plans, how these targets will be achieved. Above all, the directive sets a constraint: the majority of renovations will have to concern the lowest performing 43% of the building stock. In this way, the targets cannot be achieved by new buildings alone.
Stop fossil fuels by 2040
The other big issue is the abandonment of fossil fuels, starting with natural gas boilers, in homes. The date by which to achieve a complete ban has been moved forward to 2040; the previous deadline was 2035. Not only that. While tax incentives for these appliances will be cancelled as of 2025, it has been explicitly stated that it will be possible to give incentives to hybrid heating systems, such as those combining boilers and heat pumps.
