La EU directive on energy efficiency of buildings throws Italian politics into turmoil. The provision on property it has not yet been approved and there are already positions taken to the contrary. The mere discussion of the text envisaged in the European Parliament's Industry Commission for the first week of February has brought the largest party in the Italian government and a part of the construction world to the barricades. "There home is sacred and you don't touch it” said the group leader of Fratelli d'Italia in the Chamber Thomas Foti. The party of the premier of Giorgia Meloni he is also about to present a resolution with which he asks the government to oppose the Brussels rule. The attack is that – if the text were approved in its original formulation – millions of property owners would be harmed. This opposition is also supported in part by the manufacturers, for whom in Italy they would be renovate two out of three buildings.
The EU housing directive comes after the war in Ukraine.
The MEPs are engaged in a long tug of war between the environmentalist positions and those of the groups less inclined to green redevelopment of the building stock. The debate revolves around about 1600 amendments since - as reported by Ansa - the Commission's text, dated 2021, does not take into account the energy scenario caused by the war in Ukraine and the effects on the economies of the various states. We recall that the rapporteur of the measure is the deputy of the European Greens Ciaran Cuffe which supports the need to start a profound process of redevelopment of the buildings. To facilitate the project, the works should be able to count on the resources of the Social fund for the climate and on Recovery funding.
A virtuous market would open up, where, however, the freedom to build houses or not is not guaranteed. For this and other correlations, the story risks provoking new divisions between governments. In fact, if the Italian one is preparing to give battle, the Swedish one is on the opposite side. “The priority is to make Europe greener. There are several legislative dossiers that are now being negotiated in the trilogue and our aim is to reach an agreement during the presidency,” said Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson during the press conference together with the president of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
What does the EU housing directive provide?
The new text of the EU provision, still in draft form, establishes that by 2030 January XNUMX all residential properties must be included in the energy class E. Three years later it will be mandatory to switch to class D. A promotion that requires a cut in energy consumption of about 25%, with interventions such as thermal coat, replacement of fixtures, new condensing boilers, solar panels. To achieve zero emissions by 2050. Exemptions are envisaged for historic centers and historic houses or houses of architectural value. The vote in the European Parliament was scheduled for January 24 but was postponed to February 9.
Efficient home: what have other European countries done?
In the meantime, the study of Imperial College arrives from England ” Decarbonising Buildings: Insights From Across Europe" with a focus on the energy situation of buildings in the main European countries. Given that the United Kingdom is not interested in the directive, as it is outside the EU and has one of the least efficient building stocks, the attention of the study focuses on Sweden, Norway, Germany, Italy, France. In the first two countries, energy restructuring has already occurred in some way. Heating systems are now completely without coal. In Sweden there is a lot of use of geothermal equipment, in Norway electricity is produced by hydroelectric plants and wind farms. Germany has a national standard for measuring the energy efficiency of homes. It is voluntary, but in six years it has reduced CO8,3 emissions by 2 million tonnes, with savings of 3,3 billion euros. Italy with the superbonus 110% of 2020 introduced the tax credit for landlords. Finally, France has a free public housing renovation service – France Rénov – which offers support and advice on how to make apartments efficient. The picture is varied but the energy renovation of houses will continue for a long time to come.
