Yesterday, the European Parliament voted in favour of the mandatory renovation of old buildings to save energy, confirming its negotiation position on the “Energy Performance of Buildings Directive” (EPBD), which is part of a whole raft of new EU climate legislation, dubbed “Fit for 55”.
“Fit-for-55” is an irresponsible experiment with our economy.
New article, by Dutch MEP @Rob_Roos https://t.co/IpeiuMM6v7#Fitfor55 #EUgreendeal #climate #energy #nuclearpower #biomass #renewables #democracy @TimmermansEU— BrusselsReport.EU (@brussels_report) July 14, 2021
An estimated 35 million homes across Europe will affected, with owners of older homes particularly at risk.
In Germany alone, this “climate-neutral conversion” of buildings could cost 254 billion euros in Germany alone, state bank kfW has estimated. Haus & Grund, the Central Association of German House, Apartment and Land Owners, points out that this will lead to a dramatic loss in value, especially in the case of older buildings. Corriere della Serra, one of Italy’s leading newspapers, described the EPBD on 10 January as a law “that penalises Italy”, writing: “Our country has an old building stock and a great diffusion of property ownership … the cost of the green deal could be high and fall heavily on citizens.”
Check out here which MEPs just voted to make housing even more expensive than it already is, by endorsing the EPBD (which imposes mandatory renovations of buildings), who voted against and who abstained:https://t.co/GrRhd4nOvx #EuropeanParliament #fail #EPBD #climate pic.twitter.com/ozjCZKYJhE
— Pieter Cleppe (@pietercleppe) March 14, 2023
Irish green MEP Ciarán Cuffe, who’s in charge of the European Parliament’s negotiations on the buildings directive, exclaimed that this is a “huge step forward for lower energy bills, reducing energy poverty, and tackling 36% of EU emissions”.
In response, German MEP Markus Pieper (CDU-EPP) warned: “This will overwhelm homeowners.” One of his colleagues, Angelika Niebler, pointed out that there is already EU legislation looking at boosting energy efficiency, including a carbon price for the heating of buildings and the newly agreed energy efficiency directive, stating: “We shouldn’t try to shape society to prepare it for climate change with bans and coercion. We have to find smarter solutions.” Ralph Kamphöner, the President of CDU Brussels, summed it all up: “Unfortunately, a majority of MEPs have lost touch with the realities of life.”
🏠 "Zero emission buildings are being pushed; more bureaucracy and administrative burdens; unnecessarily, frequent energy certifications and climate risk certificates for materials are being demanded."
🗣 @ladislav_ilcic on the energy performance of buildings in #EPlenary. #EPBD pic.twitter.com/dAbpk8CcJw
— ECR Group (@ecrgroup) March 13, 2023
