Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) are under discussion in the frame of the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) as a tool to trigger renovation of buildings in the European Union and reduce GHG emissions. To inform this discussion, Climact and BPIE modelled the impacts of MEPS schemes on the European building stock. This allows comparing the ambition of MEPS as originally proposed by the European Commission with two other scenarios: the REPowerEU plan and a scenario aligned with the EU climate and energy consumption reduction targets set by Fitfor55. The modelling was done in June 2022 and mainly accounts for the proposals from the EU Commission, REPowerEU and the EP rapporteur for the EPBD revision, Ciáran Cuffe.

The three main scenarios show that (results by 2030 are compared to 2015 level):

• The MEPS proposed by the Commission in the EPBD revision proposal (EPBD-baseline) would reduce GHG emissions by 9%. In the absence of long-term objectives, it would not prepare the building stock for the phase-out of fossil fuels. This would not be sufficient to ensure the building sector brings the foreseen contribution to the Fitfor55 targets.
• Repower EU’s MEPS proposal can have a higher impact, reducing GHG emissions by 17%.
• A more ambitious design of the MEPS could reduce GHG emissions by 21%, contributing to achieving 1/3 of the building sector target for 2030.