INGLESE

 

Energy efficiency plays a key role in the process of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Achieving these reductions in the next decade is crucial to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 according to the European Green Deal.
The European “Renovation Wave” strategy highlights how energy renovation of buildings is essential to reach this target, reducing consumptions and replacing fossil energy sources with renewable ones.
Currently 75% of the European building stock is energy inefficient and the current renovation rate (between 0.4% and 1.2%) is not sufficient to achieve the decarbonisation targets set for the 2050. To overcome this situation, the Italian strategy foresees that in the next 30 years 2/3 of the existing buildings must be renovated. This means that the current restructuring rate will have to double (from 0.85% to 2%) in 2020-2030 and triple in 2030-2050 period.
To support this process, it is essential to put in place adequate financial instruments that encourage and allow the realization of the necessary investments in energy efficiency to reach the renovation target.

 

Challenges

The challenge is to create and develop an effective context in which both public and private entities can find the right initiatives and partners to carry out energy efficiency projects that can be easily financed by banks and other investors.
First, several issues need to be resolved to ensure a de-risking process of investments in energy efficiency:

• What are the main barriers currently blocking the investment potential in energy efficiency
• in the construction sector?
• How to involve and support stakeholders in a more effective way, and how to strengthen relationships built on mutual trust?
• What is the capacity of each stakeholder to support market development, and how to help provide assurances of high-quality work in (deep) renovation?
• How to exploit and bring together public and private funding to support investments in energy efficiency?
• How to aggregate projects and increase investments, bridging the gap between the financial and energy efficiency sectors?
• In what way policymakers can effectively support this process?

 

Objectives

The GREENROAD – Growing Energy Efficiency Through National Roundtables Addresses – project aims to:

• OBJECTIVE 1: set up permanent national roundtables and territorial focus groups to facilitate the dialogue among stakeholders as well as decision-makers to promote changes starting from the real needs of the market.
• OBJECTIVE 2: create through the roundtables opportunities to jointly identify the most effective measures and the best practices for energy efficiency in buildings accelerating their
• implementation and replication.
• OBJECTIVE 3: improve the bankability of energy efficiency projects, through specific training activities for those involved in the renovation process of the building stock.
• OBJECTIVE 4: facilitate the development and monitoring of energy efficiency measures at national and local level.

 

Methodology

Given the complexity of the barriers that hinder the financing of energy efficiency interventions in buildings, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It is therefore essential that both the demand and the supply side communicate to identify the most suitable and accessible solutions. To achieve this, GREENROAD uses a dual approach:

• TOP-DOWN: Establishment of roundtables at national level with institutional stakeholders, in order to: allow in-depth discussion on the current obstacles and shortcomings in the market, share best practices and show innovative financing solutions, aiming at also identifying the political and regulatory framework needed to support and improve their effectiveness.
• BOTTOM-UP: Organization of events at local level involving the largest possible number of operators, investors, associations, local authorities, and institutional subjects active in the energy efficiency sector, contributing to the development of the skills necessary to carry out energy efficiency actions. Local needs will also be analysed in order to identify new solutions and good practices to replicate.

 

Impact

• Lessons learnt and feedbacks from the actors and operators involved in the project will be used to develop strategies, overcome barriers, and adapt / replicate the “success stories” on a larger scale.
• On the basis of what emerged from the many activities and analyses carried out during the project, a programmatic document will be drawn up containing recommendations for the design of new actions and policy measures, as well as for the modification and integration of existing policies, at local and national level.
• At the end of the project, a strategy will be developed for the creation and operation of a highly representative permanent forum that can continue the activity undertaken in the national roundtables and maintain an active dialogue between public and private stakeholders both at national and local level.

 

 

Project Partners