The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) introduce new energy performance standards and targets for the rate and depth of building renovations. These measures aim to align the sector with the EU’s decarbonisation pathway toward climate neutrality by 2050, but such efforts risk being undermined if, once completed, renovations fail to achieve the expected energy savings and reductions in CO₂ emissions.
Drawing on country assessments and stakeholder consultations in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, and Croatia, a newly released OUR-CEE guide provides a set of measures for national and local policymakers to address underperformance in public building renovations.
The measures reflect barriers and enabling factors identified across the region and are structured to cover all stage of the renovation process: financing, planning, implementation, and monitoring.
Author’s Insights:
“Closing the energy performance gap requires action at every stage—from how projects are financed and planned, to how they are implemented and monitored. We need to link funding to real, verified energy savings, invest in data and skills at the local level, and ensure that performance is tracked after renovations are completed. Only then can public buildings truly lead the transition to a climate-neutral future.”
– Aura Oancea
For further details and media inquiries, please contact Aura Oancea: aura.oancea@epg-thinktank.org
This paper was written as part of the OUR-CEE project, supported by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN).