S.L. 623.1 Art. 8AStrategy to support renovation.

(1) The Building and Construction Authority shall establish a long-term renovation strategy to support the renovation of the national stock of residential and non-residential buildings, both public and private, into a highly energy efficient and decarbonised building stock by 2050, facilitating the cost-effective transformation of existing buildings into nearly zero-energy buildings. Each long-term renovation strategy shall be submitted in accordance with the applicable planning and reporting obligations and shall encompass:

(a) an overview of the national building stock, based, as appropriate, on statistical sampling and expected share of renovated buildings in 2020;

(b) the identification of cost-effective approaches to renovation relevant to the building type and climatic zone, considering potential relevant trigger points, where applicable, in the life-cycle of the building;

(c) policies and actions to stimulate cost-effective deep renovation of buildings, including staged deep renovation, and to support targeted cost-effective measures and renovation for example by introducing an optional scheme for building renovation passports;

(d) an overview of policies and actions to target the worst performing segments of the national building stock, split-incentive dilemmas and market failures, and an outline of relevant national actions that contribute to the alleviation of energy poverty;

(e) policies and actions to target all public buildings;

(f) an overview of national initiatives to promote smart technologies and well-connected buildings and communities, as well as skills and education in the construction and energy efficiency sectors; and

(g) an evidence-based estimate of expected energy savings and wider benefits, such as those related to health, safety and air quality:

Provided that to support the mobilisation of investments into the renovation needed to achieve the goals referred to in this regulation, the competent authorities or bodies to which the competent authorities have delegated responsibility, shall facilitate access to appropriate mechanisms for:

(i) the aggregation of projects, including by investment platforms or groups, and by consortia of small and medium-sized enterprises, to enable investor access as well as packaged solutions for potential clients;

(ii) the reduction of the perceived risk of energy efficiency operations for investors and the private sector;

(iii) the use of public funding to leverage additional private-sector investment or address specific market failures;

(iv) guiding investments into an energy efficient public building stock, in line with Eurostat guidance; and

(v) accessible and transparent advisory tools, such as one-stop-shops for consumers and energy advisory services, on relevant energy efficiency renovations and financing instruments.

(2) In its long-term renovation strategy, the Building and Construction Authority shall set out a roadmap with measures and domestically established measurable progress indicators, with a view to the long-term 2050 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Union by 80-95% compared to 1990, in order to ensure a highly energy efficient and decarbonised national building stock and in order to facilitate the cost-effective transformation of existing buildings into nearly zero-energy buildings. The roadmap shall include indicative milestones for 2030, 2040 and 2050, and specify how they contribute to achieving the Union’s energy efficiency targets in accordance with Directive 2012/27/EU.

(2a) An updated version of the initial version of this strategy shall be published by the c o m p e t e n t a uthority every three (3) years, to be reckoned from the date of the publication of the initial version. The updated versions shall also be submitted by the competent authority to the Minister responsible for the Climate Action Authority for inclusion in Malta’s integrated national energy and climate plans required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC, 2009/ 31/EC, 2009/73/EC, 2010/31/EU, 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 2009/119/ EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

(2b) The competent authority shall require the use of minimum levels of energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby, in new buildings and in existing buildings that are undergoing major renovation or a renewal of the heating system in accordance with these regulations, where this is economically, technically and functionally feasible. The minimum levels may be fulfilled through efficient district heating and cooling where it is demonstrated that this is technically and economically feasible. In the case of existing buildings, the minimum levels shall apply to the Armed Forces only to the extent that their application does not in any manner conflict with the nature and primary purposes of the activities of the Armed Forces, and shall not apply to materials used exclusively for military purposes.

(2c) The Minister shall contribute to the achievement of the indicative share of renewable energy by promoting the use of renewable heating and cooling systems and equipment and may furthermore promote innovative technology, such as smart and renewable-based electrified heating and cooling systems and equipment, complemented where applicable, by smart management of energy consumption in buildings.

(3) To support the development of the long-term renovation strategy, the Building and Construction Authority shall carry out a public consultation on its long-term renovation strategy prior to submitting it to the Commission. A summary of the results of the public consultation to the long-term renovation strategy shall be annexed to the document intended to be submitted the Commission:

Provided that the modalities for consultation shall be established in an inclusive way during the implementation of its long-term renovation strategy:

Provided further that the details of the implementation of its most recent long-term renovation strategy shall be annexed to the long-term renovation strategy, including on the planned policies and actions:

Provided further that the long-term renovation strategy to address fire safety and risks related to intense seismic activity affecting energy efficiency renovations and the lifetime of buildings may be made use of.

(4) (a) Without prejudice to regulation 8, the competent authority shall take cost-effective measures, including deep renovations and measures to influence the behaviour change of occupants, in order to achieve an amount of energy savings in eligible buildings owned and occupied by public bodies, which are at least equivalent to those required by paragraph 1 of Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2023/1791, which amount of such energy savings shall be reported annually to the Minister responsible for the Climate Action Authority.

(b) The competent authority shall estimate the energy savings referred to in paragraphs (1) to (4) of Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2023/1791 by using appropriate standard values for the energy consumption of reference public bodies before and after renovation and according to estimates of the surface area of their stock. The categories of reference public bodies shall be representative of the stock of such buildings.

(c) The Minister responsible for the Climate Action Authority shall notify to the European Commission the measures that are planned to be adopted, demonstrating how they would achieve an equivalent improvement in the energy performance of the public bodies.

(d) For the purposes of establishing the equivalence between the savings required to be achieved in accordance with sub-regulation (1) and the energy savings referred to in paragraphs (1) to (4) of Article 6 of Directive EU 2023/1791, the competent authority in collaboration with the Lands Authority, shall establish and make publicly available an inventory of heated and, or cooled buildings occupied by public bodies with a 2 total useful floor area over 250m , excluding buildings exempted pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 6 of Directive EU 2023/1791, containing the following information:

2

(i) the floor area in metre squared (m ); and

(ii) the energy performance of each building or relevant energy data.

(e) The competent authority shall encourage public bodies, including social-housing bodies governed by national law, with due regard to their respective competences and administrative set-up to:

(i) adopt an energy efficiency plan, whether as a stand-alone plan or as part of a broader climate or environmental plan, containing specific energy saving and efficiency objectives and measures, with a view to fulfilling the exemplary role of public bodies as established in this sub-regulation;

(ii) put in place an energy management system, including energy audits, as part of the implementation of their plan;

(iii) use, where appropriate, energy service companies and energy performance contracting to finance renovations and to implement plans a i m e d at maintaining or improving energy efficiency in the long term.