Il European Parliament approved the European “Green Homes” directive, aimed at improving the energy performance of residential buildings. The plan includes the renovation of less efficient buildings, a ban on incentives for methane boilers, a push for hybrid systems and electrification, and stricter rules for new buildings and the installation of solar systems. The directive, approved with 370 votes in favour, 199 against and 46 abstentions, aims to make the European Union's building stock a zero emissions by 2050.
The political agreement, less rigid than the initial proposals from the EU Commission, will now have to be confirmed by Member States at ministerial level and subsequently published in the EU Official Journal to come into force.
Italy divided: the center-right votes against, the opposition yes
The Italian parties in the government majority voted against the directive, despite a more mitigated version having been reached after an agreement between the community institutions. Forza Italia, Fratelli d'Italia and Lega unanimously voted "no", while the European People's Party was divided, with the majority following the positive indications of the EP's Industry commission. The Renew group also split, with a minority opposing the text. Among the Italian delegations in favor of the directive, the Democratic Party, the 5 Star Movement, Action, and Italia Viva voted.
Unrest in the chamber at the time of approval with the League MEP Angelo Ciocca who protested using a referee whistle. The President of the Chamber then asked Ciocca to leave, defining the gesture as "deplorable and unprecedented".
Let's now look at the main points of the directive.
Green homes directive: zero emissions by 2050
The directive establishes that each Member State will have to adopt a national plan of renovation for reduce energy consumption of residential buildings. This plan will be a roadmap that will indicate how they intend to achieve the objectives set.
The objectives will be to reduce energy consumption by 16% by 2030 and by 20-22% by 2035, aiming to zero emissions by 2050. From 2030, all new residential buildings will have to be zero emissions, while for public buildings the obligation will begin in 2028. States will be able to adopt exemption measures for historic, agricultural, military and temporary buildings, and will be able to count renovation measures adopted from 2020 for the purposes of the objective.
Once it enters into force, the member states of the European Union will have two years to comply with the directive.
Green homes directive: which houses need to be renovated?
Countries will have flexibility in choosing which buildings to renovate. The only restriction imposed is that at least 55% of the reduction in average primary energy consumption is obtained through the renovation of buildings with worse performance, i.e. the most energy-intensive ones.
In Italy it is estimated that out of 12,5 million residential buildings, approximately 5 million will be subject to priority renovations.
Stop boilers and fossil fuels from 2040
States will have to eliminate the fossil fuel boilers by 2040 and end subsidies for standalone boilers by 2025. From 2025, tax breaks will only be available for hybrid systems, which combine gas condensing boilers and heat pumps. Appliances capable of running on green gas could therefore have access to incentives, according to the Commission's guidelines. Hybrid appliances, which combine boilers and heat pumps, will be crucial to the new subsidy system. The electrification of heating and the use of heat pumps will also be fundamental, especially for zero-emission buildings. L'mandatory installation of solar panels it will apply only to new public buildings, with a progressive period from 2026 to 2030.
Green home directive: the discount on the invoice is back
The directive accentuates the importance of deep renovations in the financing of the works, with member countries having to prioritize resources towards interventions that guarantee minimum energy savings. In addition to traditional forms of support, such as tax deductions and tax credits, the directive also includes forms of support that allow direct savings on citizens' bills, such as discount on invoice.
