SEFA Launches Proposed Delivery Architecture for Buildings to Help Scale Renovation Investment Under the Paris Agreement
Brussels, Belgium May 20, 2026
The Sustainable Energy Finance Association (SEFA) today launched a proposed Delivery Architecture for Buildings under the Paris Agreement, a new implementation blueprint designed to help governments translate climate and renovation targets into scalable renovation programmes, investable project pipelines, and long-term capital mobilisation.
This architecture responds to a growing challenge facing governments across Europe and internationally: while climate and building renovation targets have become increasingly ambitious, implementation systems capable of delivering projects at scale remain fragmented. Existing public programmes, financing mechanisms, and technical assistance instruments often operate in isolation, limiting the mobilisation of private capital and slowing renovation delivery.
The proposed Delivery Architecture provides a practical operational framework for connecting policy design, project preparation, aggregation, delivery mechanisms, financing structures, and performance verification within a coherent implementation model. The architecture is explicitly designed to support the execution of key European policy frameworks, including the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), National Building Renovation Plans (NBRPs), Social Climate Plans, and the Affordable Housing agenda, while also supporting broader objectives under the Paris Agreement and the GlobalABC Buildings Breakthrough.
The paper outlines five connected operational functions required to scale renovation markets:
Policy and programme design;
Programme preparation and aggregation;
Delivery mechanisms;
Capital mobilisation;
Impact and outcomes verification.
SEFA’s architecture delivers immediate impact across two critical levels:
For the Market: The architecture provides clear pipeline visibility and standardizes procurement across the building sector. This stabilizes the broader retrofitting market, giving contractors, technology providers, and Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) the long-term confidence they need to invest in workforce development and scale up their operations.
For the Citizen: The architecture directly addresses severe housing affordability and energy challenges, where volatile energy prices, shrinking public subsidies, and rising costs increasingly barrier low and middle-income families from essential building upgrades. By bundling thousands of scattered residential and social housing units into large-scale, standardized regional programs, our architecture coordinates market supply chains to reduce per-unit delivery costs. These structural economies of scale lower overall renovation prices, mitigating the financial burden on vulnerable households, keeping deep renovations affordable, and providing public authorities with a concrete blueprint to structurally combat energy poverty.
The architecture is intended for policymakers, public authorities, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), National Promotional Banks and Institutions (NPBIs), housing actors, ESCOs, financial institutions, and investors involved in scaling building renovation programmes. SEFA states that this architecture is not a new governance requirement or a single financing instrument, but a flexible implementation framework designed to be applicable across national, regional, and municipal contexts, as well as public, residential, and commercial building segments. Ultimately, effective deployment will require local adaptation, aligning the architecture with the existing institutional frameworks, governance structures, regulatory systems, financing mechanisms, and market conditions within each jurisdiction.
About SEFA
We are a Brussels-based non-profit organisation advancing the financing and deployment of sustainable energy solutions across Europe’s built environment. Through advocacy, research, training and cross-sector collaboration. SEFA connects policymakers, investors, project developers, and technology providers to accelerate progress toward a net-zero economy