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In diesem Gutachten wurde untersucht, welche Optionen zur Gestaltung eines marktbasierten haushaltsunabhängigen Verpflichtungsansatzes zur CO2-Minderung im deutschen Gebäudebestand bestehen. Die Analyse erfolgte technologieoffen und berücksichtigte neben Sanierungsmaßnahmen zur Steigerung der Energieeffizienz auch einen verstärkten Einsatz CO2-armer/erneuerbarer Energien. Das Verpflichtungssystem soll in der Lage sein, die bestehenden Treibhausgas (THG)-Minderungsziele im Gebäudebestand möglichst kostengünstig auf kurz- und langfristig sinnvolle Weise zu erreichen und sich gut in das bestehende Förderinstrumentarium integrieren lassen.
Rising energy costs have led to increased discussion about the social impact of the energy transition in Germany in recent years. In 2021, a gradually increasing CO2 tax was introduced. This paper analyzes the question of whether a CO2 tax can be socially just. Using data analysis and desk research, correlations between income and energy consumption in Germany are shown. In a short analysis, it is investigated which additional burdens different types of private households have to expect in the coming years due to the introduction of CO2 pricing on energy. In particular, the introduction of a per capita flat rate fed by CO2 tax revenues could be a suitable way to reduce the burden on low-income households.
D2.1 report on local EPC situation and cross-country comparison matrix : QualDeEPC H2020 project
(2020)
Considering that 40% of the European Union's energy consumption can be traced back to its buildings, it is essential to improve their energy efficiency in order to achieve the EU's energy efficiency targets. Both the rate of energy renovation and its depth, i.e. the amount of energy savings during a renovation, need to be improved. Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), regulated by the EU's Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), are an important instrument to enhance the market uptake of energy-efficient new buildings and the energy-efficient renovation of existing buildings.
Against this background, the Horizon2020 funded project QualDeEPC will work on EU-wide convergence of the building assessment and the issuance, design, and use of quality-enhanced EPCs as well as their recommendations for building renovation. The aim is to make these recommendations coherent with deep energy renovation towards a nearly-zero energy building stock by 2050.
The first part of the QualDeEPC project (work package 2) aims to identify the priorities for elements of EPC schemes that show a need to be improved, and for which the project will investigate further and propose how the elements can be improved. The first step in identifying these priorities is taking stock of the existing EPC schemes. Based on the input from all national consortium partners and other sources, the Wuppertal Institute prepared this detailed overview of the country-specific EPC assessment and certification procedures and their links to other policies and programmes, existing initiatives, and projects. The analysis was based on a list of almost 50 potential options for enhancing the existing EPC schemes.
The aim of this deliverable is to present this stock-taking by a detailed analysis on which of the potential enhanced EPC elements are already implemented in which form in which country, covering all 28 countries that were EU member states until 31 January 2020. All partners conducted bilateral interviews with the major actors in the EPC procedures, including executive bodies on EPC at regional and/or national level. For countries not represented in the Consortium, Wuppertal Institut and EAP conducted specific literature research, e.g. from the Concerted Action EPBD, and aimed to obtain contributions from other member states. The information collected allows a detailed presentation on the elements implemented as well as a cross-country comparison matrix (see Annex I) in this report, which outlines the current EPC practices across the EU regarding the elements of a good practice scheme or innovative improvement options, their comparability, compliance with EU legislation, and to which extent they differ or converge.
The results show, once more, the high diversity in EPC schemes across the EU. They also provide useful information in at least two directions: 1) which improvement options are not yet implemented at all or in sufficient quality in most QualDeEPC partner countries as well as other EU member states, and could therefore be interesting candidates for the further work of the QualDeEPC project in development, testing, discussion, and possibly implementation of elements for enhanced and converging EPC schemes; and 2) which countries, within or beyond the QualDeEPC project, offer good practice examples for the implementation of these options that could serve to guide the development and implementation in other countries. This deliverable will thus serve as a basis for the upcoming tasks to develop priorities and actual proposals for improvement of EPC schemes.
The original objectives for introducing Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) were 1) to make energy performance transparent in the building market, as a measure of energy costs of using a building that a potential buyer or tenant would be interested in; and 2) to encourage energy efficiency renovation. However, the current implementation of EPC schemes in the Member States still shows significant challenges in achieving these two objectives. The recast of the EU Directive on the Overall Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) provides a chance to enhance both the usefulness and quality of EPCs and the EPC schemes overall.
This document aims to inform both the debate on the recast of the EPBD and the enhancement of national EPC schemes in EU Member States. It presents the draft policy recommendations of the Horizon 2020 QualDeEPC project for making the EPBD and the national schemes more effective, particularly for deep renovation, and enhance their quality overall. The policy recommendations particularly target the link between EPCs and deep (energy) renovation1, while increasing the levels of ambition and convergence across the EU in terms of building renovation. Deep (energy) renovation is crucial for mitigating climate change and for energy security. The EPBD and all of its articles, as well as national EPC schemes, should aim to make deep (energy) renovation the default. This objective would be embedded and ensured in EPC schemes, if the policy recommendations provided in this document were adopted and implemented.
Dieses Wuppertal Paper dient dazu, a) die mögliche Klimaschutzwirkung eines CO2-Preises zu analysieren, allein und im Gesamtpaket von Instrumenten zum Klimaschutz, b) die Möglichkeiten der Mittelverwendung zu analysieren und zu bewerten, c) dadurch den Dschungel der Argumente und Motivationen in den bestehenden Vorschlägen zu lichten und d) aus der Analyse ein Modell zu skizzieren, das den Anforderungen von Klimaschutz und sozialer Gerechtigkeit sowie Erhalt der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit am besten gerecht wird und damit der Bundesregierung als Anregung bei der Entscheidung über Einführung und Ausgestaltung eines CO2-Preises dienen kann.
In dem Papier werden diese Fragen anhand von neun Thesen mit einem abschließenden Fazit ergründet. Daraus wird deutlich:
Ein CO2-Preis kann sektorale Ziele und Instrumente nicht ersetzen. Seine volle Wirkung kann er nur entfalten, wenn er komplementär zu sektorspezifischen Klimaschutzinstrumenten eingeführt wird. Nur wenn für diese Instrumente ein guter Teil der Einnahmen aus der CO2-Steuer eingesetzt wird, sind die Klimaziele erreichbar. Die Ziele werden dadurch mit weitaus geringerem CO2-Preis bei gleichzeitig höheren Kostenentlastungen für Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher, Unternehmen und sogar die öffentlichen Haushalte erreichbar, als wenn die Politik allein auf einen CO2-Preis setzen würde.
To achieve the EU's energy efficiency targets, both the rate of building energy renovation and its depth, i.e., the amount of energy savings post renovation need to be improved. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are key to make energy efficiency measures transparent for the building market and to promote the energy efficiency of buildings through renovation. The revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is seen as a pre-condition to meet the Renovation Wave objectives and to reach a highly energy efficient and decarbonized building stock by 2050. One focus of the current revision of the EPBD is therefore the improvement of EPCs. QualDeEPC - High-quality Energy Performance Assessment and Certification in Europe Accelerating Deep Energy Renovation, funded under the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, is a project that aims to improve EPCs. Following an EU-wide review of existing EPC schemes, and extensive stakeholder discussions in the seven partner countries, QualDeEPC found that EPCs and EPC schemes need to enhance particularly in the following three ways:
1. Establish a close link between EPCs and deep energy renovation
2. Improve the quality of EPC schemes, i.e., both the EPCs and their data, and the processes of assessment, certification, verification
3. Improve cross-EU convergence of EPC schemes.
In the energy sector, few topics, if any, are more hyped than hydrogen. Countries develop hydrogen strategies to provide a perspective for hydrogen production and use in order to meet climate-neutrality goals. However, in this topical field the role of water is less accentuated. Hence, in this study, we seek to map the interrelations between the water and wastewater sector on the one hand and the hydrogen sector on the other hand, before reflecting upon our findings in a country case study. We chose the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan because (i) hydrogen is politically discussed not least due to its high potentials for solar PV, and (ii) Jordan is water stressed - definitely a bad precondition for water-splitting electrolyzers. This research is based on a project called the German-Jordanian Water-Hydrogen-Dialogue (GJWHD), which started with comprehensive desk research mostly to map the intersectoral relations and to scope the situation in Jordan. Then, we carried out two expert workshops in Wuppertal, Germany, and Amman, Jordan, in order to further discuss the nexus by inviting a diverse set of stakeholders. The mapping exercise shows various options for hydrogen production and opportunities for planning hydrogen projects in water-scarce contexts such as Jordan.