The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) was first published in 2002 and has been revised several times since then. The latest revision is a part of the EU’s “Green Deal” strategy which was published in 2019. The main goal of the strategy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% until 2030 and reach climate neutrality by 2050.
This also means that all buildings should be zero-emission buildings and be fully sustainable. This will entail a big effort to renovate existing buildings and set rules for new buildings to be more energy efficient. These efforts will provide a unique opportunity to push for more accessible buildings at the same time.
Firstly, during any major renovation or new construction, accessibility can be included and will thus only cost a fraction of a separate renovation project. Secondly, making a building more sustainable also means that it should last longer and be “future-proof”, i.e. that people can use them longer. To avoid costly retro-fitting or having to demolish existing buildings after a few decades of use is not sustainable. Therefore, including accessibility, which ensure older persons and persons with disabilities can use them, is also a measure of future-proofing.
Th disability movement successfully argued for the inclusion of accessibility as one of the factors to make a sustainable building in the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings, which was concluded in April 2024. The final text of the new law has many excellent provisions to promote accessibility and inclusiveness.
However, the form of the legislation (Directive) means that some of these provisions are optional and need to be explicitly included by the national legislators. We have prepared this toolkit to support our members and allies to argue for an ambitious national transposition and for full inclusion of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in the relevant consultations and bodies on national level to achieve the best possible outcome.
The main aim of this toolkit is to provide persons with disabilities and their representative organisations with an overview of the content of the recently adopted revised Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings (2024/1275)[1]. Secondly, this toolkit will provide practical advice on how to strengthen the national legislation during the transposition process.
- Download Toolkit “Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (recast) 2024/1275” in Word
- Download Toolkit “Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (recast) 2024/1275” in PDF
Contacts
Marie Denninghaus – Senior Policy Coordinator