The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive was adopted to reduce energy bills and emissions.

The European Commission welcomes the final adoption of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, another milestone in the European Green Deal. This legislation sets a framework for Member States to reduce emissions and energy consumption in buildings across the EU, from homes and workplaces to schools, hospitals and other public buildings. This will improve people’s health and quality of life. The revised Directive sets ambitious targets for reducing the overall energy consumption of buildings across the EU, taking into account national specificities. It leaves it up to Member States to decide which buildings to target and what measures to take. It will boost demand for clean technologies made in Europe and create jobs, investment and growth.

Each Member State will adopt its own national trajectory to reduce the average primary energy consumption of residential buildings by 16% by 2030 and by 20-22% by 2035. For non-residential buildings, they will have to renovate 16% of the buildings with the worst energy performance by 2030 and 26% of the buildings with the worst energy performance by 2033. Member States will have the possibility to exempt certain categories of residential and non-residential buildings, including historic buildings or holiday homes, from these obligations. Citizens will be supported in their efforts to improve the quality of their homes. The Directive requires the creation of one-stop shops for advice on building renovation, and provisions on public and private financing will make renovation more affordable and feasible.

The Directive will increase Europe’s energy independence, as set out in the REPowerEU plan, by reducing our use of imported fossil fuels. The revised Directive will make “zero carbon” the norm for new buildings. All new residential and non-residential buildings must have zero on-site fossil fuel emissions, from 1 January 2028 for public buildings and from 1 January 2030 for all other new buildings, with specific exemptions. The strengthened Directive includes new rules to phase out fossil fuels from heating in buildings and to increase the use of solar thermal installations, taking into account national circumstances. Member States will also have to ensure that new buildings are “solar ready”. Subsidies for the installation of stand-alone fossil fuel boilers will be stopped from 1 January 2025. It will also increase the uptake of sustainable mobility through provisions for built-in cabling, electric vehicle charging points and bicycle parking spaces.

Better renovation planning and technical and financial support will be key to triggering an EU-wide renovation wave, as foreseen in the revised Directive. To combat energy poverty and reduce energy bills, financing will need to incentivise and accompany renovations, and target in particular vulnerable customers and the worst performing buildings, where more households are affected by energy poverty.

Next steps

The amended directive will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force in the coming weeks. Member states will then have to transpose it into their national law.

General context

Buildings are responsible for around 40% of the EU’s energy consumption, more than half of the EU’s gas consumption (mainly through heating, cooling and domestic hot water) and 35% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, around 35% of the EU’s buildings are over 50 years old and almost 75% of buildings are energy inefficient. At the same time, the average annual renovation rate is only around 1%

In 2020, the Commission presented its Renovation Wave strategy, which aims to at least double renovation rates by 2030 and ensure that renovations lead to more energy efficiency and renewable energy sources in buildings. The Commission’s proposal to amend the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in December 2021 was complemented by additional elements on solar energy in buildings under the REPowerEU plan in May 2022. The co-legislators reached a political agreement in December 2023.

The Directive is a key element of the EU’s efforts to move away from fossil fuels and double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency and triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, as agreed with global partners at COP28. The adoption of the Directive builds on the completion and entry into force of the “Ready for 55” package and will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.