João Pedro Gouveia took part in the IWG5 meeting and, together with Dr. Teresa Cuerdo, presented their work on the task force White Paper on Affordable, Sustainable Energy Transition and Building Renovation.

We highlight challenges and solutions to drive a more just and inclusive energy transition in the building sector.

The SET Plan group IWG5 Buildings convened a just transition task force of experts in 2024. The task force presented its white paper in March 2025.

The paper’s introduction identifies key EU legislation and strategies impacting the built environment, including 2030 climate and energy targets, REPowerEU, the Renovation Wave, and the Just Transition Mechanism. The paper highlights that implementing these measures will have societal impacts that need to be considered so as to “target the most vulnerable, energy-poor citizens and hard-to-reach energy users, leaving no one behind.”

The 2nd chapter introduces key definitions and the dynamics behind ‘just transition’, ‘energy poverty’ and ‘affordable and sustainable renovation’, as well as the main ‘stakeholders’ involved in the energy transition.

The following section identifies key areas of ‘Implementation’ and gives recommendations to make the rollout of EU objectives in these fields more just and inclusive. In the area of ‘building renovation’, it identifies the importance of providing information and financial support to tenants and disadvantaged sectors. For fossil fuels phase-out, the paper recommends that authorities and media raise awareness of the benefits of switching to cleaner energy sources. The authors identify the benefit of increasing ‘Electrification’, although the associated costs of equipment related to it can be reduced in several cases, in part by having more qualified installers in the heat pump sector for example also, the drive to electrify should not result in installing systems with low energy efficiency that are costly in the long run. The paper recommends using ‘biomass’ as efficiently as possible to reduce air pollution and sustainability risks.

Section four explores ‘solutions and recommendations for a socially just and fair energy transformation.’ It identifies several measures to improve the reach and affordability of clean technology solutions. Key interventions include deploying district heating and cooling to mutualise and reduce energy costs and move towards Positive Energy Districts; improving inclusivity and innovative solidarity mechanisms in Renewable Energy Communities; and building renovation passports, which can help individuals budget and prioritize renovation actions. Also, public authorities can better target support of disadvantaged neighbourhoods via building renovation passports.