The Renovation Wave strategy set out to double the rate of energy renovation in EU buildings by 2030. A look at its goals, the legislation built on it, and the obstacles that remain.
In October 2020 the European Commission published the Renovation Wave strategy, its plan to make Europe’s buildings more energy efficient as part of the European Green Deal. The starting point was simple: buildings account for around 40% of the EU’s energy consumption, and roughly three quarters of the building stock is energy-inefficient. Yet only about 1% of buildings undergo an energy renovation each year.
The targets
The strategy set three headline aims for 2030:
- at least double the annual rate of energy renovation of buildings;
- renovate 35 million buildings;
- encourage deep renovation, which cuts energy use substantially rather than through single measures.
The Commission also estimated that the effort could create up to 160,000 additional green jobs in construction. The strategy itself was a communication, not a law. Its targets became binding only as they were written into legislation over the following years.
From strategy to legislation
Halfway to 2030, most of the legal framework the strategy called for is now in place.
The recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Adopted in 2024, Directive (EU) 2024/1275 is the main instrument. It introduces minimum energy performance standards for the worst-performing non-residential buildings, a renovation trajectory for the housing stock, the zero-emission building standard for new construction, renovation passports and a common A to G certificate scale. Member states had until 29 May 2026 to transpose most of it.
The recast Energy Efficiency Directive. Directive (EU) 2023/1791 requires member states to renovate at least 3% of the total floor area of heated or cooled buildings owned by public bodies each year, to at least nearly zero-energy or zero-emission standard. The obligation previously applied only to central government buildings; it now covers regional and local public buildings as well.
Carbon pricing and social support. A new emissions trading system for fuels used in buildings and road transport, known as ETS2, is due to put a price on heating fuels. Part of its revenue will finance the Social Climate Fund, which runs from 2026 and supports vulnerable households, including through building renovation.
Funding. The Recovery and Resilience Facility gave renovation a large but temporary boost. Many national programmes were funded through it, and they end as the facility winds down in 2026.
What still holds renovation back
The legal framework is ambitious, but the rate of renovation depends on decisions by millions of owners. Several barriers recur in national renovation strategies and Commission assessments.
- Split incentives. In rented buildings, the landlord pays for the renovation while the tenant gets the lower bills. In apartment buildings, owners must agree collectively.
- Up-front cost and financing. Deep renovation is expensive, and payback periods are long. Green mortgages, renovation loans and on-bill financing remain small markets in many countries.
- Skills and capacity. Installers, energy advisers and contractors able to plan and deliver deep renovations are in short supply.
- Complexity. Owners face fragmented advice and support. The recast EPBD responds with one-stop shops and renovation passports that set out a step-by-step plan for each building.
- Stop-and-go subsidies. Sudden changes to national schemes have repeatedly disrupted demand, as seen with heat pump sales in several countries in 2024.
Measuring progress
Tracking the renovation rate is itself difficult. Definitions of renovation differ, and data on works carried out without public support is limited. The Commission’s EU Building Stock Observatory collects indicators across member states. The new national building renovation plans, due in final form by the end of 2026, will be the first time all member states report against the targets of the recast EPBD.
The next milestones are concrete: zero-emission standards for new public buildings in 2028 and for all new buildings in 2030, and the first minimum standards for non-residential buildings in 2030. Whether the Renovation Wave delivers will become clear when member states report on those dates. The EPBD Policy Tracker lists the full timeline, and the France profile shows how one large member state is approaching it.