Towards climate neutrality in Belgium's residential building stock: Integrating technical, socio-economic, and environmental data for sustainable renovation strategies

Belgium’s path toward a climate-neutral building stock remains uncertain, as renovation rates and policy consistency fall short of the European 2050 targets. The transition toward a zero-carbon building stock is slowed by multiple technical, economic, and behavioral barriers that limit the adoption of deep renovation strategies. Recent reforms, including the reduction and withdrawal of financial support for households across Belgium, reflect a broader instability in renovation policy, risking more harm than good by slowing the renovation pace when acceleration is needed.
Building on two ongoing studies, this paper reflects on how Belgium’s residential building stock can advance toward climate neutrality. The first study examines the cost- and emissions-optimal renovation options for representative residential archetypes, while the second explores the socio-economic characteristics of homeowners and the barriers they face in undertaking deep renovation. Examining these aspects in parallel reveals both the technical potential and social limits of the transition: while significant energy and emissions reductions are achievable, financial constraints, knowledge gaps, and behavioral factors remain major obstacles to large-scale action.
This research reflects on the feasibility of deep renovation in Belgium. It emphasizes the need for coherent, targeted policies that align economic incentives with social realities, ensuring that climate neutrality becomes not only a technical ambition, but also a socially attainable goal.