In accordance with Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings (also known as the ‘EPBD’), the Commission is required to publish, by December 2012 and every three years thereafter, a report on the progress of Member States in drawing up national plans to develop policies and take measures such as the setting of targets in order to stimulate the transformation of buildings that are refurbished into Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEBs).
This first report is largely based on the information contained in the national plans for NZEBs submitted by 8 Member States (BE, DK, CY, FI, LT, NL, SE and UK) as of the end of November 2012. In the meantime, six other Member States (BG, DE, FR, HU, IE and SK) have sent in their plans but these have not been taken into account in the analysis. In addition, for the Member States that did not provide an official national plan, information on their progress was drawn from their second National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs), where such information was available. Thirteen of the second NEEAPs (BG, EE, FI, FR, HU, IE, IT, LU, MT, PL, ES, NL and UK) refer to the NZEB objectives.
The report’s main conclusions are as follows:
- at the end of November 2012, only 9 Member States (BE, DK, CY, FI, LT, IE, NL, SE and UK) had reported their NZEB national plans to the Commission. As regards the practical definition of NZEBs, only 5 Member States (BE, CY, DK, IE and LT) presented a definition that contains both a numerical target and a share of renewable energy sources;
- fifteen Member States (BE, CZ, DK, EE, FI, DE, GR, HU, IE, LV, LT, SL, SE, NL and UK) presented intermediate targets for improving the energy performance of new buildings by 2015, with most focusing on strengthening the building regulations and/or the energy performance certificate level;
- although most Member States reported a variety of support measures to promote NZEBs, including financial incentives, strengthening their building regulations, awareness raising activities and demonstration/pilot projects, it is not always clear to what extent these measures specifically target NZEBs.
The report reaches the conclusion that insufficient progress has been made by the Member States in their preparations towards NZEBs by 2020.
The lack of proper and timely preparation increases the risk that Member States will not meet the deadlines for new buildings to be NZEBs. Moreover, the absence of clear definitions, interim targets and dedicated support measures means that the building sector faces uncertainty over the regulatory and policy framework for NZEBs, thus delaying the necessary investments in technology, processes and training, and reducing its competitiveness.
Furthermore, the EU might lose part of the contribution that buildings should make towards meeting its long-term climate and energy objectives. Given the potential size of this contribution, it is unlikely that this gap would be filled by savings in other sectors.
This lack of progress also implies that Member States are struggling to put in place a detailed practical definition of NZEBs within the scope of the EPBD, which further increases the uncertainty for the building sector.
Lastly, since the Commission has received only limited information from the Member States, it is not possible to undertake a proper evaluation of the national plans, and in particular of the adequacy of the measures envisaged by the Member States in relation to the objectives of the EPBD.