Failure to transpose the green homes directive will cost us dearly and bitterly: the European Commission has in fact started an infringement procedure against Italy in relation to the so-called Green Homes Directive.
The reason? Italy has not sufficiently implemented and explained the gradual elimination of incentives for the installation of fossil fuel boilers by the deadline of 1 January 2025 identified by the aforementioned directive.
In recent months, the Meloni Government – say ARSE, FREE Coordination, Greenpeace, Kyoto Club, Legambiente, WWF – has immediately demonstrated a closed attitude towards a directive which, instead, has the ability to put innovation and energy transition at the centre, a combination which is good for the environment, for combating the climate crisis and which helps families and businesses save on costs on their bills.
What happened
Italy has not yet adequately responded to the European Union’s request to ban incentives for methane boilers.”stand alone” starting from January 2025. This is the complaint that pushed Brussels to send an official letter, thus giving rise to a possible infringement procedure linked to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), better known as the Green Homes Directive.
As for the transposition of the Green Houses directive, in fact, the final deadline for adapting national legislation to the EPBD is set for 29 May 2026, but a first deadline was set for 1 January 2025 only on the issue concerning the mandatory stop for EU countries to incentivize the installation of autonomous fossil fuel boilers. A stop that Italy missed, with Hungary and Estonia.
The Commission therefore sent letters of formal notice to Estonia, Italy and Hungary, “who now have two months to respond to and remedy the deficiencies raised by the Commission.”
The infringement procedure initiated by the European Commission against Italy, for failure to transpose the green homes directive and for not having fully implemented or comprehensively explained the gradual elimination of financial incentives for the installation of autonomous fossil fuel boilers by the deadline of January 1, 2025, does not surprise us at all – the associations continue.
Furthermore, the Executive has also demonstrated strong obstinacy in wanting to continue financing gas boilers, still present in the Thermal Account 2.0 still in force and which will be replaced by the Thermal Account 3.0 only in December, going against two European directives. A behavior and a closure that the country is now paying dearly for, given the infringement procedure initiated by the European Commission, which also involves Hungary and Estonia.
In the meantime, Thermal Account 2.0 continues to be valid, although it is set to be replaced by the new Thermal Account 3.0 later this year. This measure, which particularly concerns public administrations, still allows the provision of incentives for condensing boilers. However, there is a lack of clear legislation precisely defining the end of incentives for boilers, thus creating uncertainties that have raised concerns from the European Commission. Brussels, in fact, does not consider it sufficiently clear whether tax deductions represent the only incentive still available or whether other types of contributions are envisaged.
