Renovating hospitality buildings to help Europe go carbon-neutral

On 15 December 2021, the EU moved another step closer to its ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The European Commission adopted a second package of proposals to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The new EU Energy performance of buildings directive proposal (2021/0426), in particular, introduced an EU-wide minimum energy performance standard for buildings in the Union identified as worst-performing (i.e., G-index). Public and non-residential buildings will undergo renovations and reach energy performance level F (by 2027) and level E (by 2030). Newly-built public and private buildings in the Union will have to be carbon neutral by 2027 and 2030. Fossil fuel-powered heating systems will no longer be eligible for public support from 2027.

The Commission will help to finance initial investment costs, allocating up to €150 billion to implement minimum energy performance standards by 2030. In this regard, we believe that the EU Institutions should pay special attention to SMEs and further incentivize them to transition to green business models. Businesses and workers will also need further support in developing new training and skills.

We welcome the new proposal, as it is based on the ‘energy efficiency first’ principle and combines common objectives with flexible timetables for each member state. However, we believe that the proposal should not include bureaucratic data collection that results in burdens to owners and consumers.