MEMBERS OF THE European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee today voted in favour of a plan to retrofit all public buildings across the continent in order improve energy efficiency for buildings.

The parliament’s energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD), which could cost a reported €1 trillion, was passed by the committee with 37 votes in favour, 20 against and six abstentions.

The EPBD looks to upgrade, on a gradual scale, the energy ratings of every building in the European Union to combat the energy use of older buildings.

The plan will initially start with retrofitting publicly owned buildings by 2050 and later drafting plans to allow for homeowners to do the same. It also lays out directives that all new buildings should have zero emissions by 2030.

In December, after intense and long negotiations between the parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, – what’s known as ‘trilogue’ – the wording of the directive was agreed upon.

This evening the committee took the first steps to greenlight the plan, with hopes it reaches the parliament for a vote in March.

Rapporteur of the bill, Irish Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe, posted the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, and welcomed the committee’s successful vote.

Steady progress at the energy committee this evening with a strong yes vote for our greener buildings plan.

Next & final stop: full Parliament vote #EPBD pic.twitter.com/3cTC3Ag7E1

— Ciarán Cuffe (@CiaranCuffe) January 15, 2024

Cuffe said: “Steady progress at the energy committee this evening with a strong yes vote for our greener buildings plan.”

Fine Gael MEP and member of the committee Seán Kelly also welcomed the deal and said the parliament cannot ignore the importance of retrofitting the buildings if it is to meet its climate deal deadline of 2050.

Kelly, who led negotiations at trilogue on behalf of the European People’s Party (Fine Gael’s European parliamentary group), said: “This is a very positive outcome and paves the way for a plenary vote on the deal by March.

“Negotiations on this directive were challenging, which reflects the complex subject matter. Reaching political agreement has not been easy and I have worked particularly hard in winning cross-party support for the overall revision in that regard,” he added.

The revised rules aim to ensure that by 2030, all new buildings in the EU are zero-emission structures, and by 2050, existing building stock undergoes a transformation into zero-emission buildings.

The plan has run into resistance in some EU countries, particularly ones with older housing stock such as Italy. 

The measure is a part of the EU’s Green Deal which looks to decrease the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, reaching a carbon neutral status by 2050.

Around one-third of buildings in the EU are over 50 years old, and almost three-quarters of the building stock is energy inefficient. Right now, about 1% of buildings are being retrofitted each year. 

In Ireland, just over 27,000 buildings were retrofitted in 2022. The government’s National Retrofit Plan aims to have half a million homes retrofitted by the end of 2030.