Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Progress by Member States towards nearly zero-energy buildings

Buildings are central to the EU's energy efficiency policy, as nearly 40% of final energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions is in houses, offices, shops and other buildings. Improving the energy performance of Europe's building stock is crucial, not only to achieve the EU's 2020 targets but also to meet the longer term objectives of our climate strategy as laid down in the low carbon economy roadmap 2050.

Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings (hereafter called the 'EPBD') is the main legislative instrument at EU level for improving the energy efficiency of European buildings. A key element of the EPBD, especially for achieving these longer term objectives, is its requirements regarding Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (hereafter called 'NZEBs').

Article 9(1) of the EPBD requires Member States to "ensure that (a) by 31 December 2020, all new buildings are nearly zero-energy buildings; and (b) after 31 December 2018, new buildings occupied and owned by public authorities are nearly zero-energy buildings." Moreover, Member States must draw up national plans for increasing the number of NZEBs, which may include targets differentiated according to the category of building.

Article 9(2) furthermore provides that Member States must develop policies and take measures such as the setting of targets in order to stimulate the transformation of buildings that are refurbished into NZEBs, and inform the Commission thereof in their national plans. On the basis of these national plans, the Commission is required to publish a report on the progress of Member States, by December 2012 and every three years thereafter.

This first report is largely based on the information contained in the national plans for NZEBs submitted by 8 Member States as of the end of November 2012. In the meantime, six other Member States have sent in their plans but these have not been taken into account in the analysis. In addition, for the Member States that did not provide an official national plan, information on their progress was drawn from their second National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs), where such information was available. Thirteen of the second NEEAPs refer to the NZEB objectives. This report also draws on information contained in National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) and a specific study on NZEBs.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)483: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:483:FIN

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