The EPBD4 Challenge
About a year from now, give or take, is also the time by which—hopefully without delays or stalling—the Italian government will have to disclose how it intends to meet the targets set by EPBD4, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. This directive was definitively approved by the European Parliament on March 12, 2024 (with Italy voting against) and entered into force on May 28, 2024.
It’s worth recalling the goals of the directive, which are structured across several levels:
Objectives for buildings:
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New buildings must be zero-emission by 2028 for the public sector and by 2030 for the private sector.
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Existing buildings must undergo energy upgrades to reach zero-emissions by 2050.
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Residential buildings must reduce average primary energy consumption by 16% by 2030 and by 20–22% by 2035.
Objectives for Member States:
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Develop a National Plan for building renovation and energy retrofitting.
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Set minimum energy performance thresholds for existing buildings.
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Promote mortgages and financial instruments tailored to support energy upgrades.
Objectives for the construction sector:
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Define a long-term vision for the sector aligned with climate neutrality by 2050.
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Accelerate renovation rates, especially for the most energy-intensive buildings.
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Further incentivize solar energy and other renewable sources.
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Integrate electric mobility into building systems, following a vehicle-to-grid approach.
Despite the intense lobbying around the recent reappointment of the European Commission, which confirmed Ursula von der Leyen as President, it’s clear that the EU has not backtracked on the content of the directive passed in 2024. Objectives and deadlines remain unchanged, with the only flexibility introduced being a reasonable endorsement of technological neutrality.
These next 12 months will therefore be crucial in defining Italy’s approach to the digital and energy transition of its building stock. Any policy will have to balance financial constraints with a long-term strategic vision. The day-to-day political improvisation that has long characterized Italy’s approach can no longer suffice. What’s needed is a strategy with the long-term scope of nearly a quarter century.
If we consider that addressing the energy transition of the national building stock will also mean indirectly tackling the housing crisis, as well as urban regeneration, mobility, and new digital services for citizens, it becomes evident that implementing EPBD4 will effectively amount to shaping a large-scale, mid-to-long-term political and economic project. At least, that should be the ambition.
With that said, I’d like to close this editorial by drawing attention to another pressing issue that must be addressed: the shortage of technical personnel—both in terms of quantity and quality—capable of executing the twin transition of Italy’s building sector. This long-neglected issue is becoming a national emergency, as clearly shown by recent data from a CRESME survey conducted for ANIE.
Alongside long-term strategies for the energy and digital transition of the building sector, it will be essential to address this challenge systematically and at multiple levels. This means encouraging young people to pursue careers that have moved far beyond traditional trades still defined by outdated legislation like Ministerial Decree 37/08. It also means reskilling current professionals through continuous training programs that can no longer be left to individual initiative. These programs must be developed and funded—first and foremost—by the Regions, which are responsible for vocational training.
In this regard, we strongly urge—just this once—that actions be taken in a coordinated manner, avoiding the usual scenario of having 20 different approaches to the same problem. A small country like Italy can no longer afford such inefficiency.
