For the gas stop announced but only in intention
There “Green Homes” directive foresees, to his article 17, paragraph 15 That: “From 1 January 2025, Member States will no longer offer financial incentives for the installation of unique boilers powered by fossil fuels, with the exception of those selected for investments financed with an ad hoc fund. At the moment in Italy there are no specific plans in force in this sense, but indeed in the Structural Budget Plan itself, the commitment to support decarbonisation is foreseen by triggering “virtuous mechanisms for private investments” to incentivize the most efficient interventions and reduce the role of tax deductions”.
The Plan specifically talks about this move to the White Certificates mechanism also for private individualsi.e. the recognition of qualifications that certify the energy saving result achieved, qualifications which can then be sold on the specific market, as already happens today with white certificates for businesses. Surely a mechanism that takes time to also be applied to private individuals, but in any case it was conceivable that the Maneuver would take these announcements into account in some way, at least indicating a path to follow.
The Mase guidelines for the remodulation of incentives
Furthermore, Vannia Gava, deputy minister of the environment, had illustrated the lines along which the Ministry is moving in response to a parliamentary question, confirming the stop tax incentives for systems that refer to technologies no longer admissible according to European standards.
And already in the same draft of Thermal Account 3, published by the same ministry in the first months of this year, incentives are no longer provided for gas boilers but only for hybrid systemsi.e. for those who combine the gas boiler with a generator powered by renewable sources such as the heat pump. All indications that however, they are not found in the text of the Maneuver.
Renewable sources and emissions reduction
Yet according to estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA) the heat pumps could help reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by at least 500 million tonnes by 2030, the equivalent of annual CO emissions2 of the current European car fleet.
Instead in the case of non-condensing boilers replacement with this technology leads to a reduction in consumption and polluting emissions of no more than 11%.
The indications of the EU Commission
For this reason, the EU Commission’s Communication on the phasing out of financial incentives for single boilers powered by fossil fuels pursuant to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive indicates the possibility of recognizing fiscal incentives for gas heating exclusively for hybrid systemseven if only temporarily. The need for incentives modulated on the quantity of renewable energy used by the plant was also indicated. These are indications that apply to all member states.
At the moment though the Maneuver does not take this into accountas for the Ecobonus the only innovation is represented by the elimination of the 65% rate and the maintenance of a single rate of 50% for energy efficiency interventions of any category on first homes and 36% of other.
It remains to be seen whether Parliament will decide to intervene on these rules for the purposes of applying the Green Houses directive, or whether after so many announcements the mountain will once again have given birth to a little mouse.