On Friday, 12 April 2024, the Council of the European Union formally adopted a revised Directive on the energy performance of buildings, also known as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
The Directive will now be signed and published in the Official Journal of the EU and member states will have two years in which to incorporate the provisions of the Directive into their national legislation.
The Commission will review the Directive by 2028, in light of the experience gained and progress made during its implementation.
Amongst other things, the revised EPBD contains measures to improve both the strategic planning of renovations and the tools to ensure such renovations happen, such as national building renovation plans that set out the national strategy to decarbonise the building stock and ways to address remaining barriers, including those related to financing.
The adopted text also includes concrete measures which contribute to the goals envisaged in the European Green Deal. We’ve highlighted some of them below.
By 24 months from the date of entry into force of the EPBD, each Member State shall establish a national trajectory for the progressive renovation of the residential building stock in line with the national roadmap and the 2030, 2040 and 2050 targets contained in the Member State’s national building renovation plan and with the aim of transforming the national building stock into a zero-emission building stock by 2050.
The targets of the average primary energy use in kWh/(m2 .y) of the entire residential building stock are as follows:
Member States shall provide appropriate financing, support measures and other instruments able to address market barriers in order to deliver the necessary investments identified in their national building renovation plan to transform their building stock into zero-emission buildings by 2050.
Green mortgages and green loans can significantly contribute to transforming the economy and reducing carbon emissions.
Building block I of the ENGAGE Templates includes the data requirements allowing financial institutions to check the alignment of their home renovation loans with the EU Taxonomy.
According to the Climate Delegated Act, renovation activities can contribute substantially to Climate Change Mitigation if they achieve a certain level of energy savings or emission reductions.
In line with the objectives of the EPBD, the ENGAGE for ESG initiative aims to increase the lending volumes of European financial institutions for home renovations through the ENGAGE Templates and Portal, by facilitating the adequate assessment and management of financial institutions’ climate-related risks.
The ENGAGE Consortium’s ‘Unlocking the ENGAGE Templates Webinar Series’ explores the nuances of the ENGAGE Templates and how they will help lending institutions identify the relevant climate-related data to align their mortgages and home renovation loans with the EU Taxonomy.
Please click below to access the webinar content.
To achieve the proposed 55% emission reduction climate target by 2030, around EUR 275 billion of additional investments are needed per year.
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