A combination of loans and grants and assistance with complying with regulations will put the right incentives in place to drive demand for green home renovation, lift millions out of energy poverty, ease the cost of living, and end our dependence on fossil fuels.

These are our demands:

1. Make banks play their part

Public money alone won’t be enough to make all homes across Europe energy efficient. Banks should be obliged to help their consumers pay for the deep renovation of their homes through cheap and accessible loans. EU institutions and national governments need to put in place the right framework to ensure this happens. 

2. Make renovation affordable for everyone

Most people cannot afford to pay for expensive home renovations. The European Central Bank should incentivise commercial banks to offer their customers cheap and accessible loans for deep home renovation. For people who cannot access these loans, 100% of their renovation costs should be covered by public money. 

3. Make renovation simple

Carrying out renovation works is not only expensive, it is currently also complex and bureaucratic. Most people are not experts in energy and building materials, and they don’t know about the financing opportunities. To make the process easier, governments should create centres that provide free of charge technical assistance to people. 

The EU institutions are reviewing a specific law – the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) – with the aim of increasing the rate of renovations throughout Europe. In March 2023 , after a strong campaigning effort from us and like-minded partners, the EU Parliament adopted a position on this directive which includes unprecedented measures to involve banks in financing these renovations – this marked a significant victory for our campaign.