Private Financing for Energy Renovation - Event
2025 a Key Year for Europe
“Synchronising EU policies and innovative energy efficiency finance is a unique opportunity for Europe to materialise its climate goals and to tackle energy poverty.”
Schuman roundabout 6, 1040 Brussels, Belgium / hybrid event
May 19th 2025, 10:00 – 12:00 (CET)
2025 is a key year for Europe to decarbonise its buildings in order to become energy independent, meet its decarbonisation objectives and to tackle energy poverty. On May 20th, the EC will relaunch the Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition (EEFC), tasked with supporting Member States to implement them at a national level, and is developing an Affordable Housing Plan. These will provide a new framework for financial institutions and investors to deploy capital alongside a transition to net-zero for real estate and buildings in Europe.
In this event, the Renovate Europe Campaign, the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), and Climate Strategy (CS) will discuss the current state of play of energy efficiency finance for real estate in light of the latest EU regulatory developments, and the findings of the latest CS report on how to fill the EU climate investment gap more efficiently.
There is momentum to synchronise the EU policies with innovative private energy efficiency finance to materialise its climate goals and to tackle energy poverty.
This event will bring together EU policy makers and financing and building stakeholders to address how private financing can boost energy renovation and how to facilitate the financing of the just decarbonisation of European buildings!
EVENT AGENDA:
| 9:30 – 10:00 | Registration and coffee |
| 10:00 – 10:05 | Welcome and introduction |
| Rémi Collombet, Renovate Europe Campaign | |
| 10:05 – 10:45 | Panel 1 – EU Directives, intersecting indicators for real estate assets, and the response of financial institutions |
| Dominic Keyzer, Senior Consultant, Global Sustainability, ING
Murray Birt, Senior ESG Strategist, DWS Laurent Lavergne, Global Head of Sustainability, AXA Moderated by: Marion Santini, Team Lead at The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) |
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| 10:45 – 10:55 | Q&A |
| 10:55 – 11:05 | Keynote – “Offering the EU Renovation Loan (ERL) as a service for Member States” |
| Peter Sweatman, CEO, Climate Strategy & Partners | |
| 11:05 – 11:45 | Panel 2 – The European Affordable Housing Plan and the enabling role of financial institutions |
| Ralf Goldmann, Head of Division, Energy Efficiency & Energy Advisory, EIB
Zofia Wetmańska, Co-founder of the Reform Insitute and Taxonomy Manager at the Climate Bonds Initiative Stella Kaltsouni, Member of Commissioner Jorgensen Cabinet Ines Scacchi, Head of Regulatory Affairs, the European Savings and Retail Banking Group Moderated by: Adrian Hiel, Head of Campaigns and Media, Energy Cities |
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| 11:45 – 11:55 | Q&A |
| 11:55 – 12:00 | Final words and summary |
| Hugh Garnett, Senior Specialist — Real Assets, IIGCC |
Engaging Retail Lenders in Home Renovations
Join us online or in-person in Brussels at Rondpoint Robert Schuman 6!
Europe is in a race to achieve independence from foreign energy sources, alleviate its citizens from rising energy prices, and to meet its ambitious climate targets. Consuming 42% of energy and being responsible for over one third of energy-related GHG emissions, the decarbonisation of the buildings in the EU is essential to achieve this.
How can we identify which buildings to renovate? How can we provide access to low cost, long-term financing for deep renovations across Europe?
Having business relationships with more than 25 million EU customers, mortgage lenders are the single most connected stakeholder group to Europe’s buildings. As of 2022, mortgages accounted for about 80% of the lending to households. Evidently, the mortgage is the most appropriate and widely used financing tool to provide homeowners investment capital and the opportunity simultaneously to upgrade their buildings to make them resilient against energy shocks, more affordable to run and more comfortable and healthy to live in.
In this event, the Renovate Europe Campaign and Climate Strategy (CS) will present the current state of EU buildings’ renovation efforts and the findings of the latest CS report “Engaging Retail Lenders in Home Renovation”, calling for EU mortgage lenders to play a more proactive role in unlocking the trillions of home equity stored in the buildings owned by their clients through the voluntary uptake of the innovative instrument Mortgage Portfolio Standards (MPS). EU policymakers, buildings experts and finance sector stakeholders will then exchange views on these subjects.
There is growing momentum for Mortgage Portfolio Standards as over a third of the top-30 banks in Europe already have in place a form of voluntary MPS, or equivalent. We look forward to a lively discussion on its potential, design and place within Europe’s decarbonisation efforts. Included in the final version of the Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD) adopted by the EU Parliament in March 12th of this year, Mortgage Portfolio Standards were defined as:
“Mechanisms incentivising mortgage lenders to establish a path to increase the median energy performance of the portfolio of buildings covered by their mortgages towards 2030 and 2050, and to encourage potential clients to make their property more energy-performant along the Union’s decarbonisation ambition and relevant energy targets in the area of energy consumption in buildings, relying on the definition of sustainable economic activities in the EU Taxonomy.”
Agenda
9:30 AM – 9:40 AM Welcome and Introduction
Adrian Joyce, Director of the Renovate Europe Campaign
9:40 AM – 9:45 AM Ministerial Perspectives on EPBD transposition – Short video
Petr Hladík, Minister of the Environment of Czechia
9:45 AM – 10:10 AM Keynote “The Role of Retail Lenders in Buildings Renovation” and Q&A
Peter Sweatman, CEO Climate Strategy & Partners
10:10 AM – 11:15 AM Panel 1 “Frameworks and financial mechanisms to renovate buildings” and Q&A
Moderated by Sean Carroll, Cities & Buildings Editor, FORESIGHT
- Carlos Sanchez Rivero, DG ENER
- Madeline Schneider, PCAF
- Céline Carré, Saint-Gobain
- Murray Birt, DWS
11:15 AM – 11:30 AM Coffee Break
11:30 AM – 12:45 PM Panel 2 “Climate Risks and Mortgage Portfolios”
Moderated by Vanesa Osuna, Secretariat, Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA)
- Ali Erbilgiç, European Banking Authority
- Dominic Keyzer, ING
- Imène Ben Rejeb-Mzah, BNP Paribas
- Tobias Horn, Deutsche Bank
12:35 PM – 12:45 PM Analysis and key takeaways of Panels 1 and 2
Peter Sweatman, CEO Climate Strategy & Partners
12:50 PM – 1:00 PM Concluding remarks
Adrian Joyce, Director of the Renovate Europe Campaign
A New Era for the European Renovation Wave: Sharing Perspectives
We are excited to join C40 Cities, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), and the Covenant of Mayors Europe in organising this event, A New Era for the European Renovation Wave: Sharing Perspectives, on the 20th of March in Brussels.
Building renovations are key to improving energy efficiency and energy security, lowering energy bills, creating local green jobs, and improving quality of life. Cities play a key role in delivering the benefits of fossil-free and energy-efficient buildings.
Ahead of the European elections, this event will bring together mayors, deputy mayors, business associations, EU policy makers and key stakeholders to take stock of the progress so far and discuss challenges and opportunities for the future regarding building renovations, following also the update of the European climate and energy legislation.
Agenda
13.30 – 14.00 Registration and coffee
14.00 – 14.10 Welcoming remarks
Benjamin Jance, Head of Research and Innovation at Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM)
14.10 – 14.25 Opening remarks by a keynote speaker
Brian Motherway, Head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions, IEA (online)
14.25 – 15.20 What comes next for building renovations in Europe and the role of the cities
Moderator: Marnie McGregor, GCoM
- Nina Neumann, Team leader, Legislative Development and Enforcement, DG ENER, European Commission
- Peter Dermol, Mayor of Velenje, Slovenia
- Ralf Goldmann, Head of Division, Energy Efficiency and Energy Advisory, European Investment Bank
15.20 – 15.45 COFFEE BREAK
15.45 – 16.45 Enhancing cooperation between cities and stakeholders to boost local action on buildings
Moderator: Oliver Rapf, Executive Director, Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE)
- Andrea Tobia Zevi, Deputy Mayor of Rome for Heritage and Housing, Italy
- Britt Berghs, project coordinator ‘Linkeroever (Left Bank)’ Climate Neutral 2030 for the city of Antwerp, Belgium
- Julien Dijol, Director of Policy, Housing Europe
- Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO Solar Power Europe
- David Ducarme, COO and Deputy CEO Knauf Insulation, Partner of the Renovate Europe Campaign
16.45 – 17.00 Concluding remarks
Adrian Joyce, Renovate Europe Campaign
17.00 Cocktail reception
Renovate Europe Day 2023 in Madrid, Spain
Mark your calendar and join us on the 3rd of October in Madrid where the Renovate Europe Day conference will take place this year.
This high-level conference will be the moment to take stock of progress in the Spanish context, take inspiration from good examples on the ground and better understand why an ambitious Buildings Directive is crucial for energy security, climate action, citizens and the industrial competitiveness of Europe.
- Date: Tuesday 3rd October 2023
- Location: Commission Representation in Madrid (Paseo de la Castellana, 46)
- Co-organisers: Renovate España (Green Building Council España GBCe, Confederación Nacional de la Construcción CNC), Ecodes and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe
- Translation: English/ Spanish translation will be provided throughout
BUILD UP Webinar - The clean energy transition for buildings: Professional associations enhancing renovation skills
Our Vice-Chair Alice Corovessi (Managing Director of our Greek national partner INZEB) moderates a panel discussion at the BUILD UP webinar “The clean energy transition for buildings: Professional associations enhancing renovation skills.”
Watch here.
C4E Forum Webinar - Empowering Central and Eastern Europe through Energy Efficiency: Navigating Energy Security, Fit-for-55, and Rebuilding Ukraine
Revisit our webinar “Empowering Central and Eastern Europe through Energy Efficiency” to get a preview of the exciting topics that will be covered at the C4E Forum conference in Šamorín, Slovakia on May 23-26, 2023.