As originally published on Euractiv.

Imagine governments had at hand a solution to tackle the current energy crisis, potentially reduce energy bills permanently, help fight climate change and slash our dependency on imported gas from Russia and other countries.

Just consider this solution exists and is even being debated right now by energy ministers in the Council of the EU. All good news, right?

Not quite so. Some Member States are trying to water down this solution which would leave us chained to skyrocketing energy bills, unacceptable levels of energy poverty and ever-higher quantities of greenhouse gases emitted from our energy-demanding houses.

What is that solution we are talking about? The EU is currently revising the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), and the Commission’s plans for the reform contain a powerful tool called Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS).

This tool, which sets a certain energy performance level for building upgrades, can accelerate the renovation of buildings and bring it to a higher standard. And if designed right, it will lift millions out of energy poverty.

The benefits for our economies, society and energy security are huge. More than three-quarters of the EU’s building stock is inefficient. An analysis by Climact and BPIE finds that the European Commission’s proposal for MEPS in RePowerEU – renovating the leakiest buildings to energy label D by 2030 – would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17% and gas demand by 7% by 2030 compared to 2015. The same analysis applied to a more ambitious scenario, where the worst-performing homes are renovated to energy label C by 2030, would reduce emissions by 21% and gas demand by 9% by 2030 compared to 2015.

However, governments might be massively undermining this potential by seeking to apply weakened MEPS compared to the initial proposals. This would completely negate the significant benefits for Europe’s struggling families.

At a time of extremely high energy costs, a climate emergency and Russia waging war against Ukraine, this is extremely unfair to citizens, depriving them from the protection they deserve from these crises, and a short-sighted decision because it hits the poorest households the hardest, funds Putin’s war and ignores the climate emergency.

At a time of extremely high energy costs, a climate emergency and Russia waging war against Ukraine, this is extremely unfair to citizens, depriving them from the protection they deserve from these crises, and a short-sighted decision because it hits the poorest households the hardest, funds Putin’s war and ignores the climate emergency.

MEPS are an essential part of the change we need to escape this triple-layered crisis since they can permanently reduce our energy demand and replace imported fossil fuels with renewable energy. But to make a deep and lasting impact we need them to cover both residential and non-residential buildings in a meaningful way.

If we are to count the costs of short-termism, we need look no further than the €350  billion EU governments have so far dished out to help households and businesses with the exploding costs of energy.

It’s commendable that governments are helping their citizens through this winter, but they are failing to solve the root cause of the problem: high dependency on imported, expensive and volatile fossil fuels to heat our homes and other buildings.

This level of expenditure cannot be maintained over the long-term, causes inflation, puts at risk the Eurozone stability, and it would be a mistake to set ourselves up for a costly repeat of the energy crisis for many winters to come. And do we really want to continue funding Putin’s war by keeping fossil fuels in our energy-wasting homes?

Member States have shown in both the health crisis and this energy crisis that they can take emergency decisions and enact quick measures to support households and businesses. We need financial support for measures that deliver long-lasting solutions to the energy and climate crises and benefit citizens, such as building renovations driven by ambitious Minimum Energy Performance Standards.

We urge EU energy ministers to support strong MEPS for both homes and non-residential buildings. This should be accompanied by measures, such as financial mechanisms and technical assistance for consumers to support home renovation, that can significantly reduce energy bills, help address climate change and improve living conditions for people across the EU.

That would be the fair answer that all citizens deserve.