Brussels – The European Commission is calling on Italy to assess, on a case-by-case basis, the most effective and least costly measures for improving the energy efficiency of social housing, thereby calling into question the decision to exclude external thermal insulation from the Social Climate Plan. This is what the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, wrote in his reply in response to a parliamentary question tabled by MEPs from the Five Star Movement – Dario Tamburrano, Danilo Della Valle, Mario Furore, and Valentina Palmisano.
The four Five Star Movement MEPs are criticising the Italian government’s decision not to fund the thermal insulation of external walls, prioritising the replacement of heating systems and windows instead. According to the MEPs, this strategy risks failing to reduce buildings’ energy consumption sufficiently and to alleviate energy poverty. “Replacing heating and cooling systems without reducing heat loss keeps energy consumption high and does not alleviate energy poverty,” they argue, citing the principles of “energy efficiency first” and “technological neutrality” set out in the European framework.
Italy’s Social Climate Plan is worth €9.3 billion, of which seven billion comes from the EU Social Climate Fund and 2.3 billion from national co-financing. Approved by the Council of Ministers on 4 August and submitted to Brussels a year late, the plan is still under review by the European Commission, which sent its comments to Rome on 2 October.
In his reply, Hoekstra points out that the aim of the plan is “to improve around 90 per cent of social housing in energy efficiency classes F and G,” thereby mitigating the impact of ETS2, the new European emissions trading scheme, which will cover buildings and road transport and is due to come into force in 2028. More extensive refurbishments, the Commissioner adds, can also be supported through other schemes, including the “Piano Casa”.
The decision to exclude external thermal insulation remains, in formal terms, the prerogative of the Member State, which must determine the measures to be taken on the basis of available resources. The Commission, however, calls on Italy to assess the various options on a case-by-case basis, identifying the most cost-effective solutions to prevent vulnerable households living in the least energy-efficient buildings from continuing to face high energy costs. Hoekstra emphasises that this approach must respect the principle of technological neutrality.
For Tamburrano, the Commissioner’s response amounts to a rejection of the approach adopted by the Meloni government. The debate also brings back into the spotlight the issue of policies aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings and the decisions taken in Italy in recent years.
External wall insulation was one of the measures covered by the 110 per cent Superbonus, introduced in May 2020 by the government led by Giuseppe Conte under the Relaunch Decree. The scheme was subsequently scaled back: the Draghi government had planned to reduce the rate to 70 per cent in 2024 and to 65 per cent in 2025, while the Meloni government, through the Aiuti Quater decree, had brought forward the cut to 90 per cent to 2023. In February of the same year, the government had also blocked the possibility of claiming the discount on invoices and the transfer of tax credits.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
