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1. Without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 TFEU, Member States shall facilitate the establishment of financing facilities, or the use of existing ones, for energy efficiency improvement measures to maximise the benefits of multiple streams of financing and the combination of grants, financial instruments and technical assistance.

2. The Commission shall, where appropriate, directly or via financial institutions, assist Member States in setting up financing facilities and project development assistance facilities at national, regional or local level with the aim of increasing investments in energy efficiency in different sectors and of protecting and empowering people affected by energy poverty, vulnerable customers, people in low-income households and, where applicable, people living in social housing, including by integrating an equality perspective so that no one is left behind.

3. Member States shall adopt measures that promote energy efficiency lending products, such as green mortgages and green loans, secured and unsecured, and ensure that they are offered widely and in a non-discriminatory manner by financial institutions and, are visible and accessible to consumers. Member States shall adopt measures to facilitate the implementation of on-bill and on-tax financing schemes, taking into account the Commission guidance provided in accordance with paragraph 10. Member States shall ensure that banks and other financial institutions receive information on opportunities to participate in the financing of energy efficiency improvement measures, including through the creation of public-private partnerships. Member States shall encourage the setting up of loan guarantee facilities for energy efficiency investment.

4. Without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 TFEU, Member States shall promote the establishment of financial support schemes to increase the uptake of energy efficiency improvement measures for the substantial refurbishment of individual and district heating and cooling systems.

5. Member States shall promote the establishment of local expertise and technical assistance, where appropriate through existing networks and facilities, to advise on best practices with regard to achieving the decarbonisation of local district heating and cooling, such as access to dedicated financial support.

6. The Commission shall facilitate the exchange of best practices between the competent national or regional authorities or bodies, including through annual meetings of the regulatory bodies, public databases with information on the implementation of measures by Member States, and cross-country comparisons.

7. In order to mobilise private financing for energy efficiency measures and energy renovation and to contribute to the achievement the Union’s energy efficiency targets and of the national contributions pursuant to Article 4 of this Directive and of the objectives in Directive 2010/31/EU, the Commission shall conduct a dialogue with both public and private financial institutions, as well as relevant specific sectors in order to map out needs and possible actions it can take.

8. The actions referred to in paragraph 7 shall include the following elements:

(a) mobilising capital investment into energy efficiency by considering the wider impacts of energy savings;

(b) facilitating the implementation of dedicated energy efficiency financial instruments and financing schemes at scale to be set up by financial institutions;

(c) ensuring better energy and finance performance data by:

(i) examining further how energy efficiency investments improve underlying asset values;

(ii) supporting studies to assess the monetisation of the non-energy benefits of energy efficiency investments.

9. For the purpose of mobilising private financing of energy efficiency measures and energy renovation, Member States shall, when implementing this Directive:

(a) consider ways to make better use of energy management systems and energy audits under Article 11 to influence decision-making;

(b) make optimal use of the possibilities and tools available in the Union budget and proposed in the smart finance for smart buildings initiative and in Commission communication of 14 October 2020 on ‘A Renovation Wave for Europe – greening our buildings, creating jobs, improving lives’.

10. By 31 December 2024, the Commission shall provide guidance for Member States and market actors on how to unlock private investment. The guidance shall have the purpose of helping Member States and market actors to develop and implement their energy efficiency investments, including in the various Union programmes, and shall propose adequate financial mechanisms and innovative financing solutions, with a combination of grants, financial instruments and project development assistance, to scale up existing initiatives and use the Union programmes as a catalyst to leverage and trigger private financing.

11. Member States may set up a national energy efficiency fund. The purpose of this fund shall be to implement energy efficiency measures to support Member States in meeting their national energy efficiency contributions and their indicative trajectories referred to in Article 4(2). The national energy efficiency fund may be established as a dedicated fund within an already existing national facility promoting capital investments. The national energy efficiency fund may be financed with revenues from the allowance auctions pursuant to the EU ETS on buildings and transport sectors.

12. Where Member States set up national energy efficiency funds, as referred to in paragraph 11 of this Article, they shall establish financing instruments, including public guarantees, to increase the uptake of private investments in energy efficiency and of the energy efficiency lending products and innovative schemes referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article. Pursuant to Article 8(3) and Article 24, the national energy efficiency fund shall support the implementation of measures as a priority among people affected by energy poverty, vulnerable customers, people in low-income households and, where applicable, people living in social housing. That support shall include financing for energy efficiency measures for SMEs in order to leverage and trigger private financing for SMEs.

13. Member States may allow public bodies to fulfil the obligations set out in Article 6(1) by means of annual contributions to the national energy efficiency fund equivalent to the amount of the investments required to achieve those obligations.

14. Member States may provide that obligated parties can fulfil their obligations set out in Article 8(1) and (4) by contributing every year to the national energy efficiency fund an amount equal to the investments required to achieve those obligations.

15. Member States may use their revenues from annual emission allocations under Decision No 406/2009/EC for the development of innovative financing for energy efficiency improvements.

16. The Commission shall assess the effectiveness and efficiency of energy efficiency public funding support at Union and national level and the Member States’ capacity to increase the uptake of private investments in energy efficiency, while also taking into account public financing needs expressed in the national energy and climate plans. The Commission shall evaluate whether an energy efficiency mechanism at Union level, with the objective of providing a Union guarantee, technical assistance and associated grants to enable the implementation of financial instruments, and financing and support schemes at national level, could support in a cost-effective way the achievement of the Union energy efficiency and climate targets, and, if appropriate, propose the establishment of such a mechanism. To that end, the Commission shall submit by 30 March 2024 a report to the European Parliament and to the Council, accompanied, where appropriate, by legislative proposals.

17. Member States shall report to the Commission by 15 March 2025 and every two years thereafter, as part of their integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 and in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, the following data:

(a) the volume of public investments on energy efficiency and the average leverage factor achieved by public funding supporting energy efficiency measures;

(b) the volume of energy efficiency lending products, distinguishing between different products;

(c) where relevant, national financing programmes put in place to increase uptake of energy efficiency and best practices, and innovative financing schemes for energy efficiency. To facilitate the preparation of the report referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Commission shall integrate the requirements set out in that subparagraph in the common template laid down in the implementing acts adopted pursuant to Article 17(4) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

18. For the purpose of fulfilling the obligation referred to in paragraph 17, point (b), and without prejudice to additional national measures, Member States shall take into consideration the existing disclosure obligations for financial institutions, including:

(a) the disclosure rules for credit institutions under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178 ;

(b) the ESG risks disclosure requirements for credit institutions in accordance with Article 449a of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council . To facilitate the collection and aggregation of data on volume of energy efficiency lending product for the purpose of fulfilling the obligation referred to in paragraph 17, point (b), the Commission shall by 15 March 2024 provide guidance to Member States on the arrangements for accessing, collecting and aggregating data on the volume of energy efficiency lending products at national level.