European societies are confronted with an interlinked housing and energy crisis that is challenging social cohesion. As access to affordable housing becomes limited, inflation and accelerating energy prices pinpoint that energy poverty and housing inequalities mutually reinforce. Within this context, the deep renovation of the existing housing stock is promoted as key policy action. However, despite policy efforts from the EU to the local state, there are growing concerns that the transformation of housing markets may further aggravate the existing housing inequalities and energy poverty. To offer more equitable pathways to the green transition, PREFIGURE puts the spotlight on existing and emerging individual and collective efforts of policy, market, and social innovation. The project aims at identifying, tracing, analysing and networking emerging and active ‘prototypes of change’ with regard to the housing-energy efficiency/energy poverty nexus. Research objectives are to: (i) offer understanding of how practices of innovation contribute to affordable housing renovation schemes that disrupt existing housing inequalities and energy poverty; (ii) identify how housing policies trigger sustainable housing and energy transitions, how financial incentives for energy-efficient buildings are accessed by different types of owners and tenants, and how different user groups perceive sustainable housing and energy transitions, with a particular focus on income and wealth polarisation consequences on vulnerable groups; and (iii) mobilise knowledge about innovative practices for sustainable housing and energy transitions and co-create evidence-based policy solutions. Method innovation relies on fusing transformative qualitative and quantitative with technological and real-laboratory research to co-create and up-scale knowledge and practices that signal the green transition.

The 'Concerted Action EPBD IV', supporting transposition and implementation of Directive 2010/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings, is an activity which aims to foster exchange of information and experience among Member States and participating countries with regards to the implementation of the specific Community legislation and policy on the energy performance of buildings. It involves the national authorities implementing the Directive, or those bodies appointed and entrusted by them to do so. It is carried out under the coordination of Danish Energy Agency, DEA. The CA consortium is composed of organisations designated by all 28 Member States plus Norway. The CA is financed by the EU's Horizon 2020 Programme. The CA is the continuation of the first Concerted Action, CA EPBD, which ran from January 2005 to June 2007, then continued as the CA EPBD II from December 2007 until November 2010 and then CA EPBD III from March 2011 to October 2015. The CA IV will organise 4 CA Plenary meetings and some supporting activities over a period 30 months or approximately one meeting every 7-8 months, similar to the CA III. The work will be organised in Central Teams, which includes: a) 3 Core Teams on 'New Buildings', 'Existing Buildings' and 'Certification & Quality of Inspection'; b) 3 Cross-Cutting teams on 'Technical Elements', 'Policy & Implementation' and 'Compliance, Capacity & Impact'; c) 2 central functions on 'Collaboration with other actors' and 'Internal & External Communication'; and some additional functions and supporting measures. For each Central Team, issues are addressed on which the Directive does not require harmonised national implementation but where coordinated implementation would increase the impact of the Directive and reduce the implementing costs.