Legambiente recently published "Civic 5.0: Living in Class A", a report in which the environmental association indicates what it sees as the path to follow to implement the energy transition in the residential building sector, ensuring that Italy arrives prepared for the forthcoming European targets, including the 2030 decarbonisation targets on which it is lagging far behind. The report was prompted by the need to upgrade Italy's housing stock, which is still largely old, energy-intensive and a source of climate-changing emissions. To date, according to the latest available estimates, only 3.1% of more than 12 million housing stock has been upgraded due to the Superbonus incentive scheme. This is a very low percentage that will need to increase in the coming years, also in view of the commitments that Europe may demand with the Green Homes Directive.
Given that Italy is lagging far behind on the building redevelopment front, a real reform is needed in terms of stable energy efficiency policies for the building sector that will last over time – at least until 2030 and with prospects to 2035 – including: 1) a new single incentive scheme that envisages individual building work, but above all at the overall redevelopment of buildings, above all encouraging work on those in high energy classes; 2) achievement of class D as the minimum for eligibility for incentives; 3) a new incentive scheme that looks at the energy performance achieved by the work, household income, seismic protection, but also removal of architectural barriers, recovery of rainwater and use of innovative and sustainable materials; 4) elimination of all fossil fuel technology; 5) reinstatement of the tax credit transfer system (which could be restricted to work to improve energy efficiency and that related to seismic protection).
