Latvia can be more energy efficient than its Recovery plan

In Latvia, the current draft of the Recovery Plan presents a low level of ambition on energy efficiency, despite the urgent need to renovate the buildings stock.


In a nutshell:

  • Public financing towards energy efficiency is far from being sufficient
  • Many multi-apartment buildings in need to be renovated would not benefit from EU funding
  • Deficient investments in energy efficiency would fail to address the root causes of energy poverty

Details:

According to several Latvian NGOs, the draft of the Recovery Plan shared at the end of January fails to set adequate climate and energy targets for the country. This holds particularly true for energy efficiency in buildings, where investments should be significantly improved in view of the green transition.

Indeed, if the updated Latvian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) envisages the renovation of 3’000 multi-apartment buildings by 2030, the current allocation of EU funds would not contribute to achieve this objective. Combined, the funding under the Multi-Financial Framework (MFF) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility would only cover the renovation of about 550 buildings or about 18.4% of this 3’000 target, which would therefore not be met.

This is highly problematic for a country that is in urgent need of renovating its building sector. Furthermore, improving the investments in energy efficiency would help to address the issue of energy poverty, as the less wealthy population of Latvia lives in those multi-apartment buildings that would benefit from renovation through EU funds. To reduce inequalities in society, the government should therefore reconsider the current allocation.

Sources:

Bankwatch (2021). More of the same secrecy in Latvia and Romania as EU recovery funds planning gets underway

Environmental Advisory Council (2021). Letter on the Recovery and Resilience draft plan for Latvia 

Selina Vancane, Energy Post (2021). EU Recovery funds: where is the support for District Heating?