As a significant contributor to the energy consumption (40% of final energy consumption), and a principal responsible for a significant amount of CO2 emissions (36% of CO2 emissions), the building sector is subject to various policies, strategies and long-term decisions in order to reduce its impact. The reduction potential is immense, particularly through measures to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy production, not to mention the decrease of global warming that can be achieved. A significant reduction in the maintenance costs is also obtained mainly by reducing energy consumption. International institutions advise, in addition to the widespread use of new energy-saving technology solutions, adopting appropriate policies relating to standards in construction, electrical energy pricing and financial incentives. These are also required in order to encourage reductions in energy consumption. Given Romania’s commitment to align to EU standards in terms of energy efficiency, it is important to mention the several EU energy efficiency initiatives with high impact for real estate:

• Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD; including “smart finance for smart buildings”)
• Revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive
• Smart metering based on which buildings will also be divided into two new system-oriented initiatives: ‘Market Design’ and ‘Retail Energy’
• Heating and Cooling Strategy
• Revision of the Eco-design and Energy Labelling legislation

European authorities have realized that legislating on energy efficiency in buildings has little impact if there is no money to pay for it. The energy efficiency in housing and commercial real estate has thus become a high political priority in which the EU intends to invest massive funding. There are now three major sources of funding: Structural Funding, special programmes directly funded by the European Commission, and the European Fund for Strategic Investments:

1. Structural Funding 2014-2020: €40 billion for decarbonisation projects. The money goes from the Commission to the Member State’s managing authorities.
2. Special programmes directly funded by the Commission, such as Horizon 2020: €196 million over 2016-17 covering, inter alia, “Coordination and support: Activities that improve skills, mobilise large-scale investments or facilitate EU policy implementation”. EU funding rate: 100%, calls being held twice per year.
3. European Fund for Strategic Investments (Juncker Fund) leveraging €350 billion with heavy emphasis on decarbonisation.

The European Investment Bank, which is in charge of financial engineering for EU funding, recently launched the Private Finance for Energy Efficiency initiative (PF4EE), leveraging minimum € 480 million in long-term financing.* Many measures taken by Member States today will, in fact, continue contributing to the energy efficiency targets and to the broader energy and climate policy framework beyond 2020. Since the Energy Efficiency Action Plan was adopted in 2011, the situation has greatly improved: primary energy consumption has continued to fall across the Union, with steady economic growth, and many Member States have successfully strengthened their national energy efficiency programs. *http://www.eib.org/products/blending/pf4ee/index.htm?lang=en