The EU Green Homes Directive cleared
its final hurdle on Friday when it was approved by ministers at
the Ecofin Council despite Italy and Hungary voting against and
the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden
abstaining.
The Directive sets new emissions-reduction targets for
residential and non-residential buildings in order to
progressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy
consumption in the EU building sector and make it climate
neutral by 2050.
"We voted against the Green Homes Directive," said Economy
Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti in Luxembourg.
"The question is - who pays?
"Unfortunately we have experiences in Italy that are well
known".
That remark was a reference to the Superbonus scheme to
incentivize energy-efficient building renovations, which was
approved by a previous administration in 2020 and has cost the
State so far around 122 billion euros, seriously limiting the
current government's room for manoeuvre.
"'It is a beautiful, ambitious directive, but who pays in the
end?" Giorgetti added.
"We have had experiences in Italy in which the lucky few rebuilt
their houses thanks to the money put in by the State, that is,
all the other Italians.
"We say that this is an experience that could teach us
something".
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