In a few years, between 5.5 and 7.6 million private-public buildings that are in poor energy conditions will have to be redeveloped in Italy. The estimates provided by Fillea Cgil and Unimpresa for properties in the lowest classes (F and G) fluctuate, following the green light for the European Directive on green homes which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption to bring the zero emissions sector by 2050.
One company estimates that the cost of renovating three out of five homes is 270 billion. It is an intervention that «must be evaluated with great caution – warns the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto – because some binding steps for 2030 and 2040 are difficult to achieve for our country, with dated buildings and for the widespread ownership”. It will therefore be necessary to make “a priority scale of interventions ranging from heat pumps to double glazing and with a schedule” added the minister underlining that the directive “is a state constraint, not for individuals”.
And the State will have two years. The directive “does not impose direct obligations on owners”, claims Confedilizia, asking the government to modify the text of the directive in even more favorable terms for our country in the next European legislature. Codacons calculates that energy requalification interventions have an average cost of between 35 thousand and 60 thousand euros per home; just for the replacement of the boiler with a new generation one the cost can reach 16 thousand euros. The tenants' union Sunia observes that «it will not be a painless operation for thousands of families, mostly with inadequate incomes. For this reason he asks to “activate real support policies especially for less well-off families and towards the bodies that manage rental residential property assets”.
Criticisms of the directive came, among others, from the president of the Lombardy Region Attilio Fontana according to whom “it is unacceptable madness, especially that the reality of the different countries and the social reality is not taken into account” given that “a large part of our society cannot respect these terms.”
In 2023, the Lombardy Region «invested 12 million euros to allow over 3,000 families to replace the most polluting heating systems» explained the Environment Councilor Giorgio Maione, noting that in light of the success “in 2024 they will double the figure». The group leader of the Brothers of Italy in the Chamber, Tommaso Foti, assures the commitment to «not impact the pockets of Italians», criticizing the directive as a «text that follows the extreme follies of an environmentalist imprint, a farewell gift from the Dutch commissioner , Frans Timmermans.”
For Action leader Carlo Calenda it is «yet another impracticable directive which would entail spending almost 600 billion between now and 2030 (around 86 billion per year). Almost as if it were a disguised Superbonus.” Speaking of Superbonus, the total expenditure borne by the State for the deductions accrued for the works completed in February with the incentives exceeds 114.43 billion.
At the end of February, works worth approximately 104.455 billion had been admitted to the deduction; in total they affected 480,815 buildings. Patrizia Toia, MEP of the Democratic Party, instead applauds the directive, according to which the advantages will be on bills, health and the bill we pay by importing gas in addition to the recovery for construction and all crafts. For the co-spokesperson of the young European Greens Benedetta Scuderi, the directive launches “a season of just ecological transition starting from homes”.
For Assoimmobiliare “the green transition of real estate assets is an unavoidable path that must be addressed with long-term solutions and an organic industrial policy for the entire supply chain”.