Green house: why the EU directive worries

15 January 20231 year ago babelfish

The EU sets the deadline for the directive on green homes: the text should be approved within six months. Facts and insights

A green house will no longer be a habit for the rich few but a legal obligation. Next February 9, the Industry, Research and Energy commission (Itre) of the European Parliament should meet to vote on the text of the new directive on the energy efficiency of buildings .

WHAT THE NEW GREEN HOME DIRECTIVE PROVIDES

The text of the new directive would like stringent renovation obligations to make residential buildings efficient from an environmental point of view. Energy efficiency is calculated on a scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). All European buildings will have to reach energy class E by 2030 , to then reach class D by 2033 at class D (which requires a cut of about 25% of consumption). The text was presented by Irish MEP Ciaran Cuffe (European Greens) who also proposes the use of the Social Fund for the climate and Recovery funding, together with ambitious targets for heat pumps and encourage EU countries to promote "renovations community” at the neighborhood level. The Commission did not consider it necessary to introduce sanctions , leaving this option to national governments.

THE EXEMPTIONS: HISTORICAL PROPERTIES, SECOND HOMES AND CULT BUILDINGS

There are some exemptions for starting properties "officially" qualified as historic. This means that buildings protected by cultural heritage standards will not have to undergo energy efficiency measures. However, in our country there are many ancient buildings within the historic centres, not all of which are subject to restrictions by the fine arts. Other exemptions are provided for places of worship, independent homes of less than 50 square meters and second homes (provided they are inhabited for less than four months a year).

WHAT IS FIT FOR 55

Fit for 55 is an environmental policy that aims to reduce CO2 by 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 data. Compliance with these thresholds is no longer just a good practice but becomes a legal obligation. “ 55% Ready” is a package of proposals that aims to govern a gradual adjustment to 2030 levels in order to:

ensure a just and socially just transition;
maintain and enhance the innovation and competitiveness of EU industry while ensuring a level playing field vis-à-vis economic operators from third countries;
support the EU's leading position in the global fight against climate change.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE GREEN NEW DEAL

The Green News Deal targets are ambitious. From 2030, 40% of the harmful emissions for which residential buildings are responsible must be reduced . “The 40% greenhouse gas target is implemented by the EU's emissions trading system, EU Emissions Trading System , with member states' emissions reduction targets and land use, Land use , land use change and forestry Regulation – reads the website of the European Commission -. In this way, all sectors will contribute to achieving the 40% target both by reducing emissions and by increasing removals”. Specifically, it means that "buildings must consume little energy, be powered as far as possible by renewable sources, and must not emit carbon emissions from fossil fuels on site ", explained Brussels, illustrating the proposed directive.

APPROVAL OF THE GREEN HOME DIRECTIVE WITHIN SIX MONTHS

Six months is the timing given by the Swedish presidency of the European Union to approve the directive on the "green house" . The EU would like to achieve zero emissions from houses and apartments by 2040-50 . The latter are responsible for over a third of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, which means that reducing their impact is an essential step to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

THE CONDITIONS OF ITALIAN REAL ESTATE

But what are the conditions of the Italian property portfolio? Not good to hear the president of Ance, Federica Brancacci . “Italy has an almost unique position given that we have a very fractionated and fragmented residential property, not belonging to large companies that rent it as often happens abroad – President Brancacci told Il Sole 24 ore -. If we add to this that it is also the oldest heritage in Europe with a great weight of historic centers , it is clear that the objectives of the directive create problems”. According to Ance, the way forward is that of structural government incentives. "For months we have been asking for a far-reaching proposal with objectives for 2030 and 2050. The time has come to sit down around a table to give a perspective to the incentive policy, without stopping at the micro-changes on bonuses or credit transfers", he added.

75% OF ITALIAN BUILDINGS ARE ENERGY consuming

Is a green house possible in Italy? According to the Enea-CTI monitoring of energy efficiency certificates (APE) of Italian residential buildings, 75.4% fall into classes E, F, G and more than a third of them (35.3%). In addition to this, the Italian real estate heritage is very old . “A good 74% of our properties – continues Federica Brancacci -, was built before the entry into force of the complete legislation on energy saving and seismic safety”. According to Ance data, 9 million of the 12.2 million residential buildings would not be able to guarantee the energy performance envisaged by the new regulations.

THE CRITICISM OF BROTHERS OF ITALY

Tommaso Foti, group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the Chamber of Deputies, announces battle over the green house directive. “Fratelli d'Italia warns against the European Union's attempt to foist on Italy, with the directive on energy efficiency, a disguised asset that goes to harm the rights of the owners “, said the deputy. “The proposal to subordinate the possibility of selling or renting a property belonging to a high energy class is – he adds – an unrealistic hypothesis against which we have presented a specific resolution in Parliament ”. According to Foti, the measure would have “a devastating impact on the real estate market, on citizens and on families. Europe cannot pass on the costs of the energy transition to Italian families . If you exaggerate about environmental sustainability, without even worrying about an adequate time scale within which to intervene, you put social sustainability at risk".

CONFIDENCE CONCERNS ABOUT THE GREEN HOME DIRECTIVE

Confedilizia is also concerned about the repercussions on the real estate market and on the renovation market. “ The very short times will determine an unprecedented tension on the market, with a disproportionate increase in prices , the impossibility of finding raw materials, scaffolding, skilled labour, specialized firms, professionals, etc. In the immediate future, then, the effect will be that of a loss in value of the vast majority of Italian properties and, consequently, a general impoverishment of our families – they warn in a note -. To improve the energy performance of millions of buildings, realistic goals need to be set."

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/primo-piano/casa-green-perche-la-direttiva-ue-preoccupa/ on Sun, 15 Jan 2023 07:47:13 +0000.