For context, the NEB Facility will fund R&I and projects aligned with the NEB via 120 million euros of annual Horizon Europe funding from 2025-27. You can read more information about it in the scoping document in the Commission’s questionnaire page.
In WorldGBC’s draft response, we have aligned our answers to positions already expressed in the European Manifesto, the EU Policy WLC Roadmap and the WLC policy briefing. The response also references the wider work of the Circular Buildings Coalition, of which WorldGBC is a lead partner (with WBCSD, Arup and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation).
There are a number of questions we have not chosen to engage with based on the fact that the topic is currently considered out of the scope of our network or refers to specific construction materials.
I summarise several key questions and our approach in slides 24-29 of the attached presentation.
Buildings Breakthrough and NDC scorecard
WorldGBC chaired the first Steering Committee meeting for Buildings Breakthrough Priority Action 1 last week. The next step will be for this group to agree the scope of work and milestones for the work on Priority Action 1.
WorldGBC has also secured funding for a new project in which WorldGBC will work alongside five pilot GBCs (in Colombia, Brazil, Nigeria, Egypt, and the Philippines) to develop a sustainable building scorecard and action plan for NDCs and policies. These action plans will be tailored to the national context and will draw on existing policies implemented in different regions, including those of the EU such as the EPBD.
European Policy Update
Reelection of VDL and Parliamentary Committees
WorldGBC gave an update on the European Commission where Ursula von der Leyen has been elected for a second term as EC President, and alongside EU countries will now work on proposing Commissioners. In her Political Guidelines VDL has called for a Commissioner to oversee the topic of housing.
The European Parliament will organise hearings of the Commissioner-designate so that MEPs from committees can assess the suitability of candidates for proposed portfolios. This process will finish with a plenary vote at some point in the autumn, where MEPs decide whether to approve the composition of the new Commission.
The ITRE and ENVI parliamentary committees have announced their chairs and vice chairs for 2024-27 (see slide 11). Polish GBC said that they already have a good relationship with the new ITRE Committee chair Borys Budka (EPP).
Knauf Insulation pointed out that it will be important that sustainability is a key focus for the Commissioner that will potentially oversee housing, since this has not been made explicitly clear. WorldGBC said that this could be a potential focus of autumn advocacy related to the Manifesto.
ACTION
WorldGBC to take advantage of several upcoming moments to share the Manifesto with key contacts in the European Commission and Parliament (see slide 12).
ERN overview for the rest of the year
WorldGBC provided the group with an overview of key dates for the rest of the year (see slides 14/15)
EPBD implementation toolkits
EPBD factsheets
Full information about the factsheets and the launch was sent in an email last Friday (9th) but see a summary below:
WorldGBC has developed two factsheets to support the network in its advocacy work with national governments to implement key measures outlined in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). These factsheets cover:
- Minimum Energy Performance Standards and renovation trajectories in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
- Life cycle Global Warming Potential in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
WorldGBC will launch the factsheets simultaneously on 14 August 2024 at 10:00 BST, with a social media campaign aimed at the new European Commission and European Parliament, and including all GBCs within the European Regional Network (ERN). We will also share the factsheets by email to relevant contacts in the European Commission.
ACTIONS
- WorldGBC and Europe Regional Network to launch the factsheets on 14 August
- GBC in particular to use factsheets in national level EPBD advocacy work with governments
Other Implementation Toolkit materials
We are working to the following timeline for the remaining deliverables of the EPBD implementation toolkit:
- Factsheets on WLC and MEPS (to be launched 14 August)
- Case study reports (planned for October 2024)
- EU policy tracker (planned for October 2024)
- WLC position paper (planned for December 2024)
- Taxonomy WLC limit values paper (planned for December 2024)
National updates
Poland: The Polish government is planning to introduce EPC classes in January 2026. PLGBC is responding to a government consultation to inform these classes.
Sweden: the Swedish government has officially stated that it will not meet the climate targets set by the European Union
Serbia: The Serbian government has released a draft energy development strategy for public discussion. It aims to phase out coal power in household, public, and commercial sectors by 2040, as well as district heating systems, and totally by 2050. The government wants to boost the use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to significantly replace fossil fuels.
Click here to access WorldGBC ERN Policy Task Force presentation.