The EU’s controversial green buildings law risks failing at the finish line

The EU’s controversial green buildings law will be voted on in the European Parliament on Tuesday (12 March), but its adoption is far from guaranteed, given opposition from German centre-right lawmakers.

Europe’s more than 100 million buildings consume a third of the bloc’s energy and account for a third of CO2 emissions. Aside from switching to cleaner heating, the EU hopes to boost renovations through a new law, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

But as the vote draws nearer, stakeholders have become nervous about the outcome of the vote as some have perceived the directive as overly zealous and emblematic of Brussels’ overreach, something that saw the text significantly watered down during the negotiation stage.

When German centre-right lawmakers (CDU-CSU/EPP), like Christian Ehler, abandoned the law in a preparatory vote in January (laws are first adopted in the specialist committee before being put to the plenary), their fears intensified.

Should they convince the rest of the EPP party, the law would fail. Without the centre-right, a majority would be out of reach, given that the directive is unpopular with the nationalist ECR, far-right ID, and parts of the centre-left S&D.

Most point to the fall-out of Germany’s boiler ban to explain the Germans’ U-turn, where a plan to ban the installation of new fossil boilers from 2024 sparked a popular revolt. Rules on heating and housing have been considered hot potatoes in Berlin ever since.

The EPP decides on its voting stance on Monday (11 March) following on from the in-person discussion at the party’s congress in Bucharest. 

But the law’s staunch defenders remain optimistic. Irishman Ciarán Cuffe, the green EU lawmaker who negotiated the buildings law, stated he is “confident” it will be adopted. His countryman, the EPP’s Seán Kelly, said he “expects the European Parliament to vote in favour of the trilogue agreement.”

With the Greens secure, EPP, and Renew Europe split but not prepared to fully reject the law, the law’s passage hinges on two factors: the centre-left S&D and lawmaker attendance.

“The European SPD will vote in favour, as will the S&D,” said a spokesperson, although they added a few exceptions could be expected. 

During the negotiations, SPD buildings minister Klara Geywitz in Berlin had been a major opponent of the initially ambitious approach – and is said to remain opposed to the mandatory renovation targets for non-residential buildings.

German boiler 'culture war' looms large over EU buildings directive

As final talks on the EU’s buildings directive kick off in Brussels, advocates of an ambitious reform are warning against a repeat of Germany’s boiler war that risks hindering ambitious climate action.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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