LIFE shows the path to energy efficiency at C4E Forum

Improved energy efficiency in Europe’s buildings will lower bills, cut carbon emissions and boost the EU’s autonomy, a major conference attended by more than 20 LIFE projects heard. 

The Central and Eastern European Energy Efficiency (C4E) Forum 2025 – held in Cavtat, Croatia, on 20-23 May – focused on reducing the energy required to heat, cool, light and power buildings across the region. Several LIFE projects were there to showcase their work and contributions towards this goal.

‘The energy efficiency potential of the building sector is massive’, Dubravka Šuica, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, told the conference in a video address. ‘Lower energy consumption means a higher level of energy security. It has a geostrategic advantage – having to import less energy. This strengthens our autonomy and our economic stability’.  

Refurbishing existing infrastructure will be crucial if EU Member States are to meet the target of completely decarbonising their buildings by 2050, as set out in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). According to Adrien Bullier, a senior project advisor at the European Commission’s Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), meeting the 2030 energy efficiency targets will require additional investments of €165 billion per year, a large share of which will be dedicated to building renovation. 10-20% of that investment can be expected to come from public funding, he said — but the rest will have to be met by the building owners, mostly through commercial lending. Public funding will need to be increasingly targeted to low-income households and to facilitate access to loans.  
 

Against this backdrop, initiatives that foster collaboration between key stakeholders are becoming ever more vital. The LIFE SMAFIN Expanded project hosted a session on creating smart financing solutions for energy efficiency renovations. ‘SMAFIN Expanded creates structured national dialogues that connect policymakers, financiers and experts in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania and Slovenia,’ said Alice Corovessi, managing director of Greek non-profit project partner INZEB.  

Property owners can get support for designing, financing and implementing energy renovations from ‘one-stop shops’ established under the EED and EPBD.  LIFE Renov-AID held a workshop how they are simplifying, accelerating and scaling up energy-efficient home renovations in Slovenia. The project operates pilot projects in Ljubljana, Kranj and Velenje aimed at simplifying energy efficiency improvements for homeowners — but they face challenges including fragmented supply chains, workforce shortages and a lack of stable financing mechanisms. LIFE heritageHOME also presented its one-stop shop which supports retrofitting historical buildings in Estonia. 

Also taking part in C4E was LIFE CEESEN-BENDER, which works with vulnerable homeowners and tenants living in apartment buildings across Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, Poland and Romania. ‘By developing tailored renovation roadmaps, training energy professionals and building managers, and advocating for policy change, the project creates the foundation for a fair, inclusive and energy-efficient transformation of the building stock,’ said Matija Eppert, a senior expert at the Society for Sustainable Development Design in Croatia, which is leading the project. 

All the LIFE projects taking part in C4E Forum 2025 — which also included ENSMOV plus, Enefirst Plus, SEED MICAT,  CoolLIFE, CETAC, One stop shop, GEAR-UP, CROSSFIT, EPBD.wise, INSPIRenov, streamSAVE+, SMAFIN, Regio1st, ComActivate, DiVirtue, nZEB Ready  — contribute to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the revised Energy Efficiency Directive and the goals of the European Green Deal.