According to the will of the Council of Member States, only climate-neutral residential buildings should be allowed to be built in the EU from 2030. Minimum standards for energy efficiency are also to be set for existing houses and apartments, as the Council announced after a meeting of the ministers responsible for energy issues. These aim to make the entire building stock in the EU emission-free by 2050. Many owners could therefore face extensive renovations in the medium term.
According to the EU definition, so-called zero-emission buildings are buildings that draw the remaining amount of energy they need entirely from energy from renewable sources, which if possible is generated on site or in the residential area or within the framework of energy communities. Exceptions to the requirements should only be allowed in special cases – for example for historical buildings, churches or buildings that are used for defense purposes.
According to the Commission, buildings are responsible for around 40 percent of energy consumption and around a third of greenhouse gases in the EU. The new requirements should therefore also be an important building block for meeting the climate targets. These stipulate that the EU will become climate-neutral by 2050.
Commission proposals have been watered down
The agreement reached by the energy ministers will now form the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament. A final decision on the planned tightening of specifications for the overall energy efficiency of buildings must ultimately be made by both institutions.
The consultations in the Council of Ministers were based on very far-reaching proposals from the EU Commission. According to them, particularly poorly insulated buildings should actually have to be modernized by 2030. However, the representatives of the member states did not follow this recommendation.
Instead, they agreed that existing residential buildings should have minimum energy performance targets based on a “national path” to reach the 2050 zero-emissions target. In order to record the progress of the member states, there should only be two checkpoints in 2033 and 2040.
Requirements for publicly owned buildings have also been weakened compared to the Commission proposal. For example, new public buildings should only have to be emission-free from 2028 and not from 2027.
