Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

RemovedRecital 38: (38) Pre-cabling provides the right conditions for the rapid deployment of recharging points if and where they are needed. Readily available infrastructure will decrease the costs of installation of recharging points for individual owners and ensure that electric vehicle users have access to recharging points. Establishing requirements for electromobility at Union level concerning the pre-equipping of parking spaces and the installation of recharging points is an effective way to promote electric vehicles in the near future while enabling further development at a reduced cost in the medium to long term. Member States should ensure the accessibility of recharging points for persons with disabilities.

Added(15) Energy performance requirements for technical building systems should apply to whole systems, as installed in buildings, and not to the performance of standalone components, which fall under the scope of product-specific regulations under Directive 2009/125/EC. When setting energy performance requirements for technical building systems, Member States should use, where available and appropriate, harmonised instruments, in particular testing and calculation methods and energy efficiency classes developed under measures implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council▌ and Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council, with a view to ensuring coherence with related initiatives and minimise, to the extent possible, potential fragmentation of the market.

RemovedRecital 39: (39) Smart charging and bidirectional charging enable the energy system integration of buildings. Recharging points where electric vehicles typically park for extended periods of time, such as where people park for reasons of residence or employment, are highly relevant to energy system integration, therefore smart charging functionalities need to be ensured. As bidirectional charging assists the further penetration of renewable electricity by electric vehicle fleets in transport and the electricity system in general and is instrumental to peak shaving, thus lowering the need for power supply at peak hours and hence overall system costs, such functionality should also be made available, not least as it empowers owners of electric vehicles to make such functions available to play and active part in the energy system against adequate remuneration, in line with their right to generate, share, store or sell self produced energy.

Added(16) This Directive is without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The term ‘incentive’ used in this Directive should not therefore be interpreted as constituting State aid.

RemovedRecital 40: (40) Promoting green mobility is a key part of the European Green Deal and buildings can play an important role in providing the necessary infrastructure, not only for recharging of electric vehicles but also for bicycles. A shift to active mobility such as cycling can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport. With the increase in the sale of electric bicycles and electric cargo bikes, basic charging infrastructure for those vehicles should also be provided to facilitate their regular use. As set out in the 2030 Climate Target Plan, increasing the modal shares of clean and efficient private and public transport, such as cycling, will drastically lower pollution from transport and bring major benefits to individual citizens and communities. The lack of bike parking spaces is a major barrier to the uptake of cycling, both in residential and non-residential buildings. Union requirements and national building codes can effectively support the transition to cleaner mobility by establishing requirements for a minimum number of bicycle parking spaces, and building bicycle parking spaces and related infrastructure in areas where bicycles are typically less used as a means of transport can lead to an increase in their use as a form of mobility. The requirement to provide bicycle parking spaces should not be dependent on, or necessarily be linked to, the availability and supply of car parking spaces, which may in certain circumstances be unavailable. Building codes …

Added(17) The Commission should lay down a comparative methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements. A review of that framework should enable the calculation of both energy and emission performance and should take into account monetisable environmental, social and health externalities. Member States should use that framework to compare the results with the minimum energy performance requirements which they have adopted. Should significant discrepancies, i.e. exceeding 15 %, exist between the calculated cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements and the minimum energy performance requirements in force, Member States should justify the difference or plan appropriate steps to reduce the discrepancy. The estimated economic lifecycle of a building or building element should be determined by Member States, taking into account current practices and experience in defining typical economic lifecycles. The results of that comparison and the data used to reach those results should be regularly reported to the Commission. Those reports should enable the Commission to assess and report on the progress of Member States in reaching cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements. In applying the comparative methodology, Member States should take into account that energy efficiency measures at building level do not include measures that imply the use of fossil fuels in new buildings, while considering a range of options, such as the supply of renewable energy on-site, including in particular heat pumps and solar technologies, via renewable energy self consumption, joint self consumption, energy sharing or the supply of renewable energy provided from an energy community, renewable and waste energy from an efficient district heating and cooling syste. The discount rate used for the calculation of the cost-optimal levels of energy performance, both for the macroeconomic and financial perspective, should not exceed an annual rate of 3 %. The optimisation method and the macroeconomic calculation of global costs should include the environmental and health externalities of energy use, and economy-wide macroeconomic benefits in terms of, for instance, job creation and GDP.

RemovedRecital 44: (44) Access to sufficient funding is crucial to meet the 2030 and 2050 energy efficiency targets as well as to reduce the number of people living in energy poverty. Union financial instruments and other measures have been put into place or adapted with the aim of supporting the energy performance of buildings and eliminating energy poverty. The most recent initiatives to increase the availability of financing at Union level include, inter alia, the ‘Renovate’ flagship component of the Recovery and Resilience Facility established by Regulation (EU) 2041/241 of the European Parliament and the Council39 and the Social Climate Fund established by Regulation (EU) …/…. and the REPowerEU plan. Several other key EU programmes can support energy renovation under the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework, including the cohesion policy funds and the InvestEU Fund established by Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council40 . Through Framework Programmes for research and innovation, the Union invests in grants or loans to push the best technology and improve the energy performance of buildings, including through partnerships with industry and Member States such as the Clean Energy Transition and Built4People European Partnerships.

Added(18) Major renovations of existing buildings, regardless of their size, provide an opportunity to take cost-effective measures to enhance energy performance. For reasons of cost-effectiveness, it should be possible to limit the minimum energy performance requirements to the renovated parts that are most relevant for the energy performance of the building, while encompassing heating and cooling systems. Member States should be able to choose to define a ‘major renovation’ either in terms of a percentage of the surface of the building envelope or in terms of the value of the building. If a Member State decides to define a major renovation in terms of the value of the building, values such as the actuarial value, or the current value based on the cost of reconstruction, excluding the value of the land upon which the building is situated, could be used.

RemovedThe social dimension of EU energy policy has been recognised since 2016. The Fit for 55 package introduces a social climate fund through a Regulation (COM(2021) 568 final) and a definition of energy poverty through the energy efficiency directive (COM(2021) 558 final) and this Directive contains specific provisions in Articles 9, 15 and 26, to provide an adequate framework for the introduction of minimum energy performance standards. This article is hence inextricably linked to other admissible amendments.

Added(18a) To ensure decent housing for all, it is necessary to define vulnerable areas or neighbourhoods associated with energy poverty in a way that allows for more accurate detection of less developed micro-areas, both rural and urban, encompassed within more developed areas. That would contribute to the identification and location of the most vulnerable social sectors and those suffering from energy poverty, and households that are exposed to high energy cost and lack the means to renovate the builings they occupy, thus helping to fight against social inequalities that may arise from the application of the different climate action measures. Moreover, inefficient housing is a systemic cause of energy poverty, with 50 million people in the Union living in energy poverty, unable to adequately light, heat or cool their homes, and over 20 % of poor households in the Union live in a dwelling that has mould, damp or rot.

RemovedRecital 46: (46) Financial mechanisms, grants and subsidies, incentives and the mobilisation of financial institutions for energy renovations in buildings, tailored to the needs of different building owners and tenants, should play a central role in national building renovation plans and be actively promoted by Member States. Such measures should promote energy efficient mortgages with social safeguards for certified energy efficient building renovations, foster investments for public authorities in an energy efficient building stock, for example by public-private partnerships or energy performance contracts or reducing the perceived risk of the investments. Financial schemes should provide an important premium for deep renovations, especially of the worst performing buildings, in order to make them financially attractive and be designed to allow accessibility for groups having difficulties to obtain regular financing.

Added(19) The enhanced climate and energy ambition of the Union requires a new vision for buildings: the zero-emission building, the very low energy demand of which is fully covered by energy from renewable sources where technically feasible. All new buildings should be zero-emission buildings, and all existing buildings should be transformed into zero-emission buildings by 2050. Member States should take into account energy transition timing and social costs when they establish any target deadlines.

RemovedRecital 46 a (new): (46a) Member States should provide guarantees to financial institutions, in order to promote targeted financial products, grants and subsidies, for enhanced energy performance of buildings for people in energy poverty, vulnerable and low-income households, and other groups having difficulty to access finances or get traditional mortgages. Member States should ensure that those groups benefit from cost neutral renovation schemes, for instance through fully subsidised renovation schemes, or blends between grants and energy performance contracting and on-bill schemes. At Union level, special renovation instrument (the "EU Renovation Loan") should be established to provide homeowners with access to Union, long-term borrowing costs for deep renovation.

Added(20) Different options are available to cover the energy needs of an efficient building by energy from renewable sources: on-site renewables such as solar thermal, geothermal, solar photovoltaics, heat pumps hydroelectric power and biomass, renewable energy provided by renewable energy communities or citizen energy communities, and district heating and cooling based on renewables or waste heat recovery from waste water, sanitary hot water or air and renewable energy supplied from the energy grids.

RemovedThe amendment is inextricably linked to other admissible amendments.

Added(20a) With the increased electrification of heating and increase of renewable energy generation, energy efficiency in buildings is required to avoid creating excess pressure on grid capacity and oversizing generation capacity to manage peaks in electricity demand. Energy efficiency in buildings will support the grid and reduce generation capacity needs. This includes dealing with the seasonality of heating demand, which in many Member States is the main part of the energy system peak demand.

RemovedRecital 46 b (new): (46b) Green mortgage loans and green retail loans can significantly contribute to transforming the economy and reducing carbon emissions. Member States should adjust relevant legislation and develop supporting measures to facilitate the uptake of green mortgage loans and green retail loans as well as systematic data collection.

Added(20b) The Commission should assess the grid capacity that is necessary for integration of renewable energy and electrical heating solutions and identify remaining barriers to facilitate the development of renewable self-consumption, in particular those in vulnerable households.

RemovedThe amendment is inextricably linked to other admissible amendments.

Added(21) The necessary decarbonisation of the Union building stock requires energy renovation at a large scale: almost 75 % of that building stock is inefficient according to current building standards, and 85-95 % of the buildings that exist today will still be standing in 2050. However, the weighted annual energy renovation rate is persistently low at around 1 %. At the current pace, the decarbonisation of the building sector would require centuries. Triggering and supporting building renovation to at least triple the current renovation rate, including a shift towards emission-free heating systems, is therefore a key goal of this Directive. Supporting renovations at district level, including through industrial or serial type renovations, offers benefits by stimulating the volume and depth of building renovations and will lead to a quicker and cheaper decarbonisation of the building stock.

RemovedRecital 47: (47) Financing alone will not deliver on the renovation needs. Setting up accessible and transparent advisory tools and assistance instruments such as independent one-stop-shops that provide free integrated energy renovation services or facilitators and advice, as well as implementing other measures and initiatives such as those referred to in the Commission’s Smart Finance for Smart Buildings Initiative, is indispensable to provide the right enabling framework and break barriers to renovation. Local actors such as municipal authorities, energy agencies and renewable and citizen energy communities should be recognised as central to delivering national renovation needs. Other collaborative measures such as public-private partnerships play an important role and should be actively promoted and supported by Member States. In addition to financing and technical support, Member States should take up neighbourhood and district approaches to building renovation and renewable heating and cooling in their national building renovation plans and actively promoted them. Local initiatives, such as citizen-led renovation programmes at neighbourhood or municipal level, should also be provided with financial and technical support, as such initiatives enhance citizens’ engagement in the energy transition, preserve local social patterns, have an economy of scale effect and provide solutions fitting with the local context and needs.

Added(22) Minimum energy performance standards are the essential regulatory tool to trigger renovation of existing buildings on a large scale, as they tackle the key barriers to renovation such as split incentives and co-ownership structures, which cannot be overcome by economic incentives. The introduction of minimum energy performance standards should lead to a gradual phase-out of the worst-performing buildings and a continuous improvement of the national building stock, contributing to the long-term goal of a decarbonised building stock by 2050.

RemovedRecital 48: (48) Inefficient buildings are often linked to energy poverty and social problems. Vulnerable households are particularly exposed to increasing energy prices as they spend a larger proportion of their budget on energy products. By reducing excessive energy bills, building renovation can lift people out of energy poverty and also prevent it. At the same time, building renovation does not come for free, and it is essential to ensure that the social impact of the costs for building renovation, notably on vulnerable households, is limited. The renovation wave should leave no one behind and be seized as an opportunity to improve the situation of vulnerable and low-income households, people affected by energy poverty and people living in social housing, and a fair transition towards climate neutrality should be ensured. Therefore, financial incentives and other policy measures should as a priority target vulnerable and low-income households, people affected by energy poverty and people living in social housing, and Member States should outline in their national building renovation plans measures to be taken to prevent evictions because of renovation, such as rental price breaks and rent caps measures . The Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality provides a common framework and shared understanding of comprehensive policies and investments needed for ensuring that the transition is fair.

Added(23) Minimum energy performance standards set at Union level should focus on the renovation of the buildings with the highest potential in terms of decarbonisation, energy poverty alleviation and extended social and economic benefits, in particular on the very worst-performing buildings, which need to be renovated as a priority.

RemovedRecital 49: (49) In order to ensure that the energy performance of buildings can be taken into account by prospective buyers or tenants early in the process, buildings or building units which are offered for sale or rent should have an energy performance certificate, and the energy performance class and indicator should be stated in all advertisements. The prospective buyer or tenant of a building or building unit should, in the energy performance certificate, be given correct information about the energy performance of the building and practical advice on improving such performance. The energy performance certificate should also provide information on its primary and final energy consumption, on its energy needs, on its renewable energy production, on its greenhouse gas emissions, on its indoor environmental quality, as well as recommendations for the improvement of the energy performance and the life-cycle GWP.

Added(23a) The Commission should publish a summary report on the situation and progress of the Union building stock at local, regional and national level, in particular regarding the worst-performing buildings in order to focus efforts and investments appropriately.

RemovedThe amendment is inextricably linked to other admissible amendments.

Added(24) Minimum energy performance standards should create a pathway, supported by financial mechanisms, for the progressive increase of energy performance classes of buildings, in particular with regards to rural and isolated areas. When reviewing this Directive, the Commission should assess whether further binding minimum energy performance standards need to be introduced in order to achieve a decarbonised building stock by 2050.

RemovedRecital 54: (54) A common approach to the energy performance certification of buildings , renovation passports, smart readiness indicators and the inspection of heating and air-conditioning systems, carried out by qualified or certified experts, whose independence is to be guaranteed on the basis of objective criteria, contribute to a level playing field as regards efforts made in Member States to energy saving in the buildings sector and will introduce transparency for prospective owners or users with regard to energy performance in the Union property market. In order to ensure the quality of energy performance certificates , renovation passports, smart readiness indicators and of the inspection of the thermal characteristics of the building heating and air-conditioning and controls systems throughout the Union, an independent control mechanism should be established in each Member State.

Added(24a) This Directive should be consistent with the basic principles of the property and tenancy law of the Member States.

RemovedThis amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text.

Added(25) The introduction of minimum energy performance standards should be accompanied by an enabling framework including technical assistance and financial measures as well as policies that aim to enhance the skills of workers in the construction and renovation sector. Minimum energy performance standards set at national level do not amount to “Union standards” within the meaning of State aid rules, while Union-wide minimum energy performance standards might be considered constituting such “Union standards”. In line with revised State aid rules, Member States may grant State aid to building renovation to comply with the Union-wide energy performance standards, namely to achieve a certain energy performance class, until those Union-wide standards become mandatory. Once the standards are mandatory, Member States may continue to grant State aid for the renovation of buildings and building units falling under the Union-wide energy performance standards as long as the building renovation aims at a higher standard than the specified minimum energy performance class.

RemovedRecital 55 a (new): (55a) Taking a neighbourhood approach to renovations offers multiple solutions at a larger scale. Integrated renovation plans can adopt a more holistic approach that addresses the broader community ecosystem, such as transport needs and appropriate sustainable energy sources such as on-site and nearby renewables or district heating and cooling. Integrated renovation plans can also lead to benefits such as improved air quality improvements, district emission reduction, and the large-scale alleviation of energy poverty.

Added(26) The EU Taxonomy classifies environmentally sustainable economic activities across the economy, including for the building sector. Under the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act, building renovation is considered a sustainable activity where it achieves at least 30% energy savings, complies with minimum energy performance requirements for major renovation of existing buildings, or consists of individual measures related to the energy performance of buildings, such as the installation, maintenance or repair of energy efficiency equipment or of instruments and devices for measuring, regulating and controlling the energy performance of buildings, where such individual measures comply with the criteria set out. Building renovation to comply with Union-wide minimum energy performance standards is typically in line with the EU Taxonomy criteria related to building renovation activities.

RemovedThis amendment is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text.

Added(27) The Union-wide minimum energy performance standards should be based on harmonised energy performance classes. By defining the lowest energy performance class G as the worst-performing 15% of each Member State’s national building stock, the harmonisation of energy performance classes ensures similar efforts by all Member States, while the definition of the best energy performance class A ensures the convergence of the harmonised energy performance class scale towards the common vision of zero-emission buildings.

RemovedRecital 57: (57) In order to further the aim of improving the energy performance of buildings, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the adaptation to technical progress of certain parts of the general framework set out in Annex I by 31 December 2026, [in respect of the details related to the establishment of a methodology framework for calculating cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements], in respect of adapting the thresholds for zero-emission buildings and the calculation methodology for life-cycle GWP, in respect of minimum indoor environmental quality standards, in respect of the establishment of a common European framework for renovation passports and in respect of a Union scheme for rating the smart readiness of buildings. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level , and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making41 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts .

Added(28) Minimum energy performance requirements for existing buildings and building elements were already contained in the predecessors of this Directive and should continue to apply. While the newly introduced minimum energy performance standards set a floor for the minimum energy performance of existing buildings and ensure that renovation of inefficient buildings takes place, minimum energy performance requirements for existing buildings and building elements ensure the necessary depth of renovation when a renovation takes place.

RemovedThe concept of “cost optimality” is insufficiently framed in this Directive and the empowerment should also be subject to review. The co-legislators should consider anchoring in the legislative act other general principles framing this concept.

Added(28a) There is an urgent need to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels in buildings and to accelerate efforts to decarbonise and electrify their energy consumption. In order to enable the cost-effective installation of solar technologies at a later stage, all new buildings should be “solar ready”, that is, designed to optimise the solar generation potential on the basis of the site’s solar irradiance, enabling the installation of solar technologies without costly structural interventions. In addition, Member States should ensure the deployment of suitable solar installations on new buildings, both residential and non-residential, and on existing non-residential buildings. Large-scale deployment of solar energy on buildings would greatly contribute to shielding more effectively consumers from increasing and volatile prices of fossil fuels, reduce the exposure of vulnerable households to high energy costs and result in wider environmental, economic and social benefits. In order to efficiently exploit the potential of solar installations on buildings, Member States should define criteria for the implementation of, and possible exemptions from, the deployment of solar installations on buildings in line with the assessed technical and economic potential of the solar energy installations and the characteristics of the buildings covered by this obligation.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 1: 1. This Directive promotes the improvement of the energy performance of buildings and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings within the Union, with a view to achieving a zero-emission building stock by 2050 taking into account outdoor climatic and local conditions, as well as indoor environmental quality requirements and cost-effectiveness.

Added(28b) This Directive should take full account of the communication of the Commission of 18 May 2022 entitled “EU Solar Energy Strategy” and in particular its European Solar Rooftops initiative. Solar photovoltaics and solar thermal technologies should be rolled-out rapidly to benefit both the climate and the finances of citizens and businesses. Member States should establish robust support frameworks for rooftop systems, including in combination with energy storage and heat-pumps, based on predictable payback times that should be shorter than 10 years. The Member States should implement the measures as a priority, using available Union funding, in particular the new REPowerEU chapters of their Recovery and Resilience Plans. The Commission should monitor progress in the implementation of the European Solar Rooftops initiative on an annual basis, with the European Parliament, the Member States and the sector’s stakeholders.

RemovedThis Directive recognises the importance of indoor climate conditions and a healthy indoor environment in Articles 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 11. Introducing the broader notion of environmental quality through this amendment is inextricably linked to other admissible amendments.

Added(29) To achieve a highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stock and the transformation of existing buildings into zero-emission buildings by 2050, Member States should establish national building renovation plans, which replace the long-term renovation strategies and become an even stronger, fully operational planning tool for Member States, with a stronger focus on financing and ensuring that appropriately skilled workers are available for carrying out building renovations, as well as on tackling energy poverty, ensuring electrical and fire safety and improving the energy performance of worst performing buildings. In their building renovation plans, Member States should set their own national building renovation targets. In line with Article 21(b)(7) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and with the enabling conditions set under Regulation (EU) 2021/60 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Member States should provide an outline of financing measures, as well as an outline of the investment needs and the administrative resources for the implementation of their building renovation plans. Member States should consider using Union funding and financing mechanisms, in particular, the Resilience and Recovery Facility established by Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council, structural and cohesion funds and the Social Climate Fund established by Regulation (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council [regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Social Climate Fund as proposed by COM(2021)0568], to fund the implementation of their building renovation plans.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new): (da) a common general framework for considering the global warming potential over the life cycle (life-cycle GWP) of buildings;

Added(29a) In order to ensure that the Union’s workforce is fully prepared to actively work towards the achievement of the Union climate objectives, Member States should aim to lower gender disparity in the construction and building sector, including through their national energy and climate plans.

RemovedThis Directive introduces the framework for calculating lifecycle GWP in Article 7 § 2 and Annex III. Therefore, the amendment is inextricably linked to other admissible amendments.

Added(30) The national building renovation plans should be based on a harmonised template in order to ensure comparability of plans. In order to ensure the required ambition, the Commission should assess the draft plans and issue recommendations to Member States.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 2 – point g a (new): (ga) the phase out of fossil fuel use in buildings;

Added(31) The national building renovation plans should be closely linked with the integrated national energy and climate plans under Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, and progress in achieving the national targets and the contribution of the building renovation plans to national and Union targets should be reported as part of the biennial reporting under Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. Considering the urgency to scale up renovation based on solid national plans, the date for the submission of the first national building renovation plan should be set as early as possible.

RemovedThis Directive introduces the provisions on phasing out fossil fuel use in buildings in Article 15 § 10, Article 26 § 2, and Article 11. Therefore, the amendment is inextricably linked to other admissible amendments.

Added(32) Staged deep renovation can be a solution to address▌ high upfront costs and hassle for the inhabitants that may occur when renovating ‘in one go’ and can allow for less disruptive and more cost-efficient renovation measures. However, such staged deep renovation needs to be carefully planned in order to avoid that one renovation step precludes necessary subsequent steps. One-step deep renovation can be more cost-effective and result in lower carbon budget options to achieve a fully decarbonised and zero-emitting Union building stock. One-step deep and staged deep renovations are both valid options for deep renovations as differing factors need consideration, when determining most suitable solutions for decarbonisation, such as cost-effectiveness, resulting carbon budget,building use, renovation time, existing condition of the building, extent of renovations and primary energy supply of a building. Renovation passports provide a clear roadmap for staged deep renovation, helping owners and investors plan the best timing and scope for interventions. Therefore, renovation passports should be encouraged and made available as a voluntary tool to building owners across all Member States. Member States should ensure that renovation passports do not create disproportionate burdens for the parties involved and are accompanied by adequate financial support for vulnerable households, in particular where the dwelling is their only residential property.

RemovedArticle 1 – paragraph 2 – point g b (new): (gb) the indoor environmental quality performance of buildings;

Added(32a) Long-term contracts are an important instrument to stimulate staged renovation. Member States should introduce mechanisms that allow the establishment of long-term contracts over the various stages of staged renovation. Where new and more effective incentives become available during the various stages of the renovation, access to those new incentives should be ensured by allowing beneficiaries to switch to new incentives.

RemovedThis Directive recognises the importance of indoor climate conditions and a healthy indoor environment in Articles 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 11. Introducing the broader notion of environmental quality through this amendment is inextricably linked to other admissible amendments.

Added(33) The concept of ‘deep renovation’ has not yet been defined in Union law. With a view to achieving the long-term vision for buildings, deep renovation should be defined as a renovation that transforms buildings into zero-emission buildings; in a first step, as a renovation that transforms buildings into nearly zero-energy buildings. This definition serves the purpose of increasing the energy performance of buildings. A deep renovation for energy performance purposes is a prime opportunity to address other aspects such as indoor environmental quality, living conditions of vulnerable households, sufficiency and circularity, increasing climate resilience, improving environmental and health standards resilience against disaster risks including seismic resilience, fire and electrical safety, the removal of hazardous substances including asbestos, and accessibility for persons with disabilities, and enhancing carbon sinks, such as vegetated surfaces.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2: 2. ‘zero-emission building’ means a building with a very high energy performance, as determined in accordance with Annex I, where any very low residual amount of energy still required is fully covered by energy from renewable sources generated on-site, from a renewable energy community within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 [amended RED] or from a district heating and cooling system, in accordance with the requirements set out in Annex III;

Added(33a) A deep renovations standard, if accompanied by adequate support and information, including technical assistance and training, can be a way to achieve higher emissions reduction. Local policymakers play an enabling role in designing the energy renovation market through local regulations, driving phase-out of inefficient heating and cooling systems, managing public procurement processes, and developing public-private partnerships. Renovations must be carried out to a high standard to effectively reduce emissions and avoid performance gaps that can make the targets harder to reach in the medium term.

RemovedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 a (new): 3a. ‘worst performing building’ means a building corresponding to energy performance classes E to G;

Added(34) In order to foster deep and staged deep renovation, which is one of the goals of the Renovation Wave strategy, Member States should reserve the highest support level of financial and administrative support to the deep renovation of worst performing buildings with a single dwelling.