Activities of Ciarán CUFFE related to 2020/2070(INI)
Reports (1)
REPORT on maximising the energy efficiency potential of the EU building stock
Amendments (53)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC, 2009/31/EC, 2009/73/EC, 2010/31/EU, 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU, Directives 2009/119/EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas buildings are responsible for approximately 40 % of energy consumption and 36 % of CO2 emissions in the EUthe cheapest energy is the one we do not have to generate, use and pay for, and the energy efficiency first principle should be streamlined into all legislation and processes; whereas buildings are responsible for approximately 40 % of energy consumption and 36 % of CO2 emissions in the EU and their deep renovation is hence crucial to achieve the EU’s 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions objective;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas Integrated Renovation Programmes (IRPs) aim to be holistic, putting energy efficiency first, and to focus on the broader neighbourhood ecosystems, comprising of high energy reduction targets for individual buildings, and are based on best practice and understood as consisting of three main pillars: 1) Construction typology and building materials; i.e. requiring in-depth knowledge of age, use and construction method of buildings and the energy savings potential they represent, and a descriptions of the types of materials to be used throughout the course of a renovation, including their life-cycle impact; 2) Provision of and access to sustainable energy sources, namely on- site and nearby renewables, including district heating or cooling systems or using the thermal storage capacity of buildings, vehicle-to-X services and other flexibility options enabling sector integration; 3) Community/societal benefits, namely the integration of local communities into all energy renovation projects and programmes in order to tackle issues such as energy poverty, lack of technical and/or financial resources, information gaps; the implementation of this three-pillar approach ensures that as IRPs are devised and implemented, they will focus on the wider benefits that can be provided through energy renovations to people and communities such as energy efficiency, climate change resilience, industrial competitiveness, sustainability, social inclusion and accessibility;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that people spend approximately 90% of their time indoors in residential and non- residential buildings and that over half a million Europeans die prematurely every year because of poor indoor air quality 1j, and the importance of people’s healthy home has become central especially during the current COVID-19 crisis; __________________ 1j World Health Organisation 2018 "Over half a million premature deaths annually in the European Region attributable to household and ambient air pollution"
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas the European Parliament called "for the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and Energy Efficiency of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to be revised in line with the EU’s increased climate ambition, and for their implementation to be reinforced, through binding national targets, paying special attention to vulnerable citizens while also taking into account the need for economic predictability for the sectors concerned"1a; __________________ 1aEuropean Parliament resolution of 15 January 2020 on the European Green Deal (2019/2956(RSP)), paragraph 22
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Demands that building policies be holistic and inclusive, include IRPs that integrate social services, mobility, industrial and energy functions of buildings, and enable on-site or nearby renewables production, and demand-side flexibility, as well as guarantee an adequate indoor environmental quality and using excess heat and cold from nearby industrial facilities, local transport systems, or canals, rivers and other waterways where sustainable, with the aim of achieving a highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stock;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Highlights the role that energy communities already play in bringing citizens together, informing and engaging them in starting their own renovations and/or generation of renewable energy, and calls on a comprehensive package of policy measures to scale up these approaches;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes the importance to implement measures to avoid segregation and carry out social impact analyses with IRPs, with an emphasis on gender-based and household-based analyses, with particular account taken of gender disparity in income and financial resources; highlights the need for statistical data broken down by gender and household types, as well as more research to ascertain exactly how housing policies can support individuals and groups in a vulnerable situation, with a special focus on women;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights the success of one-stop- shops, for providing tailored information and advice to citizens, to aggregate projects and replicable models, inform about third party financing, coordinate and accompany renovations, as well as provide capacity building for municipalities, and the active involvement of local actors such as energy communities, consumer organisations and housing cooperatives;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the European Green Deal proposal on platforms; stresses that they must be inclusive encompassing a broad range of stakeholders such as local authorities, communities, architects, engineers, craftsmen, construction industry representatives, trade unions, consumer, employer’s and women’s organisations, renewable energy producers, energy communities and cooperatives, NGOs, educational and financial institutions, social housing bodies, owners, residents and tenants associations and gain consensus on the basis of community needs;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Underlines that regional platforms should set measurable targets and work towards roadmaps and hold regular exchanges with existing EED, EPBD and RED 1b Concerted Action platforms, as well as existing agencies and bodies in the Member States to maximise their impact; __________________ 1bDirective (EU) 2018/2002 of 11 December 2018 amending Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency; Directive (EU) 2018/844 of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency; Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable source
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Takes note of the New Leipzig Charter to be adopted during the German Presidency and shares the view that cities play a key role in dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing energy efficiency; considers that renovation of buildings will contribute largely to these objectives while promoting just, green and productive cities through resilient neighbourhoods; calls on the German Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Commission and Member States to ensure that cities will be equipped with the necessary and directly accessible funding resources for renovation measures especially in the light of necessary economic recovery;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Member States to empower their local administration to roll out IRPs at neighbourhood and community level, while putting citizens at centre stage and requiring local authorities to provide feedback on results achieved, as well as on best practices for future policy design to the national level;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on Member States to consider limits on rent increases; calls on Member States and the Commission to introduce a regulatory framework to avoid renovictions by requiring an appropriate share of deeply renovated building floor area to be reserved for marginalised communities and those at risk of, or in energy poverty;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the Commission and Member States to regulate speculative ownership of rental property especially in European capital cities through its financial legislative framework;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Calls on the Commission to set up a support service for citizens led renovation projects, as well as to issue implementing guidelines to Member States regarding the notions of enabling framework and level playing field for energy communities introduced by the Electricity Market Directive and the Renewable Energy Directive 1c to ensure a successful implementation and to fully recognise the benefits of citizen energy projects; __________________ 1cDirective (EU) 2019/944 of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU; Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable source
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Highlights that a clear and ambitious regulatory pathway to 2050 with adequate incentives and targets to achieve a highly energy efficient building stock, is a pre-condition for institutional investors to consider building renovations as sustainable long term investments;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Welcomes the Smart Finance for Smart Buildings initiative but regrets that it has not achieved its full potential, as its criteria are too complex and as blending with other funds and instruments remains a challenge for authorities and project developers;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that more than EUR 75 billion a year in EU incentives is required to ensure an energy-efficienta European Building Renovation Fund supported by at least EUR 75 billion a year in EU incentives in addition to existing funds on European, national and regional level as well as private investment is required to ensure deep renovations towards a highly energy-efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Welcomes findings demonstrating that there is a price premium for highly energy efficient buildings1h , which ensures building owners have a return on investment; __________________ 1hHyland et al “The value of domestic building energy efficiency” (2013); Mangold et al “Socio-economic impact of renovation and retrofitting of the Gothenburg building stock” (2016)
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Underlines the need to increase absorption rates of funds by removing barriers, especially through technical assistance; regrets that the size of projects under ELENA remains large, and that smaller projects and projects dealing with communities need further support and aggregation;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Considers the EU City Facility a potentially very powerful support mechanism for cities to develop IRPs, which should be continued and provide support also to smaller projects;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Considers that all IRPs should set aside funds for vulnerable and marginalised citizens; allowing them to benefit from adequate, healthy and energy efficient housing and be part of neighbourhood renovation programmes; asks for the development and sharing of best practices with innovative finance instruments such as on-built financing and schemes, including Energy Efficient Mortgages, EuroPACE loans and REnOnBill loans;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Acknowledges the role that new business models such as energy performance contracting, citizens led renovations, energy communities and energy service companies can play in renovations; underlines the need to link the funding intensity to the energy efficiency level achieved as required by the EPBD 1k and suggests adding a premium on energy plus buildings; urges the Commission to issue implementing guidelines on the relevant provisions within the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, notably to create an enabling framework by requiring regular consultations to understand market needs, blending of private and public funds, clear templates for contracts and specific procurement procedures with further clarifications on correctly accounting for building efficiency related public investments; __________________ 1kDirective (EU) 2018/844 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to regularly revise energy efficiency targets upwards as required by the Energy Efficiency Directive 1l, propose binding minimum annual renovation rates for buildings and policy measures ensuring deep renovations creating financial triggers and investment stability; __________________ 1lDirective 2012/27/EU of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC, Article 1, paragraph 2, point 6
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on European Institutions to ensure that the respective funds of the new multi-annual financial framework (MFF) prioritise dedicated amounts for energy efficiency and building renovations, with clear conditions and timeframes including technical assistance to ensure adequate absorption rates; highlights the importance of EU guarantees for investments, the blending of funding sources, as well as grant components to trigger residential energy efficiency renovations; calls on Member States to reserve dedicated amounts for energy efficiency in buildings in the respective Partnership Agreements signed with the European Commission;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on the Commission to lift financial and non-financial barriers to higher absorption rates of regional funds set aside for integrated building renovation by 2021;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission to study the feasibility of requiring Member States using ETS revenues for building renovations, including safeguarding mechanisms against fluctuations, and the feasibility of earmarking a portion of the auctioning revenue at EU level for a European Building Renovation Fund; calls on the latter to provide support for project developers throughout the project cycle and set a fixed grant proportion to make renovations attractive and affordable for citizens;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to revise EU State aid rules in order to foster IRPscreate an enabling framework for energy efficiency measures and to foster IRPs, including the installation or refurbishment of district heating systems through simplified procedures and adequate thresholds, as well as scrapping schemes for fossil fuel heating devices when replaced by individual or collective renewables based, or excess heating;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Calls on the Commission to study the feasibility of linking property transfer taxes to building energy performance in the framework of the Energy Tax Directive;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Highlights the need to decrease costs, speed up duration, effectivity, reliability and integration to increase IRPs through creating renovation markets, industrially produced, prefabricated elements, and to engage in serial and district renovation (including those integrating renewable energy generation capacity), and to engage in serial and district renovations; underlines the role of off-site prefabrication of components in acceleration, scale and cost effectiveness;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Notes that best practices on building renovations in different buildings segments exist in Member States that now need replication and being lifted up to bigger scale to achieve results;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Emphasises the need for innovation and IRPs; points to the Danish best practice concerning heat decarbonisation through community- owned district heating networks powered by solar heat, heat pumps and biomass; notes that plus-energy buildings can be constructed using heat pump technology in combination with ice storage and hybrid solar panels and highlights European leadership on building integrated photovoltaics; suggests that renewable energy technologies are recognised as key strategic value chain;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Underlines the importance of the energy efficiency first principle being streamlined into all policies and measures also in decarbonising heating and cooling, electrification of residual demand through renewable energy combined with heat pumps or efficient district heating systems, as well as in load management and flexibility; underlines the need to plan IRPs in order to achieve synergies for example concerning building accessibility, fire safety, mobility (including pre-cabling for electric vehicle charging), improving building’s climate resilience, including through creating green spaces, roofs and walls, that improve water management and help increase urban biodiversity;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Considers that energy-efficient buildings should be safe and sustainable; underlines the importance of embodied energy, sustainability in buildings, resource efficiency, and life-cycle approaches in line with the circular economy and the need for the Strategy on a Sustainable Built Environment taking a holistic and integrated approach;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Acknowledges the potential of certified wood as a sustainable building material and carbon sink in the limits of sustainable availability;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to further identify best practices for IRPs to also include historic and heritage buildings, while ensuring real savings through verification;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Underlines the need to ensure energy savings through verification by certified experts, as this will ensure high quality renovations, improved investment opportunities and higher cost effectiveness; 1i __________________ 1iEuropean Court of Auditors Special Report 28 April 2020: "Energy efficiency in buildings: greater focus on cost- effectiveness still needed"
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Member States to maximise the reuse, recycling, and recuperation of materials, including in their procurement strategies;, by increasing Green Public Procurement (GPP) 1m targets and through streamlining energy efficiency, environmental and social criteria for building renovations, while ensuring a level playing field in public tenders; __________________ 1mCommission Communication on Public procurement for a better environment (COM(2008)0400)
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on Member States to phase out fossil fuel based heating technologies as part of their national energy and climate plans (NECPs) by 2030;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Underlines the importance of co- benefits with renovation requirements at trigger points, as such requirements do not only lead to energy savings but also raise the property value and support to overcome barriers such as split incentives; highlights that minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for worst- performing rented buildings especially benefit occupants that are in or at risk of energy poverty; and could help to lift up to 4 million citizens out of this situation1d ; __________________ 1dSWD (2016)414 accompanying the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings, p. 95-97
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Underlines that progressively tightened MEPs help to operationalise long-term renovation strategies especially when correctly planned and phased-in, create investment security to the market, especially if accompanied by capacity building, tailored advice, technical assistance and financial support;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Commission to support skills and innovation for IRPs through targeted Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and the Erasmus+ Programme and to establish a Horizon Europe mission on the renovation of communities and neighbourhoods, as well as the EACE Agency to promote and implement a Strategic Skills Alliance for the construction sector aiming to design and deliver common training content to tackle existing skill gaps; equally calls on individuals, enterprises and organisations to make use of the Skills & Education Guarantee Pilot and similar schemes for training, upgrading skills and education in the renovation sectors;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Commission to release in-depth impact assessments of building, occupier and tenure typologies by 2022 with a clear timeline for the introduction of MEPS for buildingsprogressively tightened-up MEPS;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to introduce mandatory digital Building Renovation Passports by 2025;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 c (new)
Paragraph 26 c (new)
26c. Calls on Commission to review the impact of the Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) across EU Member States and amend existing provisions to strengthen them; notes that reliability, consistency and comparability of EPCs across the EU should be improved so that EPCs can become a trusted market tool to assess performance and quality of buildings, especially for the financial sector1f ; __________________ 1f"Energy Performance Certificates across Europe - From design to implementation", Buildings Performance Institute Europe - BPIE
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Highlights the benefits of smart homes, which are understood as those integrated into a wider digital energy eco- system comprised of renewable-powered buildings with smart appliances, home automation appliances, electric heat pumps, battery storage, charging stations for electric vehicles and smart meters among other digital technologies, which can enable integration and savings in various sectors of the economy;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Welcomes the Member States’ long-term renovation strategies (LTRSs) in setting out milestones towards the climate neutrality objective; confirms its dedication to closely follow implementation of this and all other provisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 1g and expects the Commission to use the implementation and enforcement tools at its disposal; __________________ 1gDirective (EU) 2018/844 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency
Amendment 353 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Highlights that a highly energy efficient decarbonised building stock should be achieved through significantly reducing energy due to the implementation of strong and enabling energy efficiency policies, while covering residual needs with renewable energy in order to achieve the transition to a highly energy efficient, fully renewables based economy and ensure alignment with the objective of limiting global warming to under 1.5oC;
Amendment 360 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Concurs with the analysis that there are a large number of benefits that accompany energy efficiency renovations in buildings such as better learning, faster recuperation, and lifting people out of energy poverty; points to improved indoor and outdoor air quality, emission reductions, energy efficiency increase, improved thermal comfort, the reduction of import dependence and energy poverty; calls on a systematic inclusion of these benefits in IRPs and calls for a binding 45% energy efficiency target by 2030;
Amendment 372 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Calls on the Commission to assess the LTRSs and issue recommendations to the Member States, which should revise their LTRSs every 5 years in line with the UNFCC stock-taking cycle and its ratchet-up architecture, to make sure that the objective of an highly energy efficient and climate neutral building stock by 2050 is met;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Calls on Member States to embrace LTRSs as a tool to set out an economic stimulus and recovery path, requiring their ambitious, detailed and urgent finalisation; underlines the need to set milestones and objectives in line with EU climate objectives and to achieve a highly energy-efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050; calls on Member States to define concrete actions to realise identified potentials for high-efficiency cogeneration and district heating;