Report “A Socially-Just EU Renovation Wave”

The report examined the impacts of minimum energy performance standards, phase-out of fossil fuel boilers, and an EU emissions trading system for buildings on low-income households in 10 countries.

Home renovation and clean heating will include low-income households in the energy transition

The European Green Deal can bring down lowest-income household energy bills by at least one-third in the medium to long term with home renovation and a switch to clean heating – finds a study by the Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy, covering 10 European countries, including Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

The study shows that the European Green Deal could deliver a fairer society and alleviate energy poverty, ensuring that the most vulnerable have access to clean, affordable heating and live in energy-efficient homes. 

Policies to boost home renovation and the uptake of renewable heating of the EU Renovation Wave will help the EU cut 60% of emissions from the building sector by 2030 and fully decarbonise it by 2050, while also reducing dependency on Russian gas imports and shielding consumers from volatile fossil fuel prices.

A combination of building regulations to increase energy renovations and the uptake of clean heating in homes, combined with smart recycling of carbon pricing revenues, can achieve these outcomes.

Find further below the Summary Report and the report series by the Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy.