The Cool Heating Coalition launched its statement for the next EU mandate: an eight-point plan on securing sustainable, renewable and affordable heating and cooling (H&C) by 2040. Read a summary of our statement here.
© Cool Heating Coalition
As we prepare for a new policy cycle, fully decarbonising heating and cooling by 2040 is of vital importance. The H&C sector makes up around half of the EU’s final energy consumption. Today, the sector strongly depends on fossil fuels, which supplied over half of our H&C needs in 2021.
Fossil fuels pose a risk to the EU’s security, public health, and climate objectives. As the war in Ukraine and Russia’s weaponisation of gas supply have shown, the EU’s dependency on gas imports is a vulnerability. Combustion-based appliances for H&C also cause indoor and outdoor air pollution, damaging our health and accelerating climate change by causing greenhouse gas emissions. Affordability is also a leading issue, and we must ensure that all, especially lower-income households, can participate in the transition.
The technologies for the H&C transition exist and have been considered mature for some time already. Moreover, Europe is home to a strong manufacturing capacity for heat pumps and solar thermal, while the geothermal industry has the potential to supply 25% of the EU population. Accelerating the rollout of clean heating and cooling will provide a major boost to EU industry.
None of these benefits will be attained without the adoption of ambitious policies that address the remaining barriers to a decarbonised and renewable H&C transition. Our statement calls on the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and our representatives in the European Parliament to pursue the priorities for heating and cooling that we have outlined. Done right, a decisive and just transition to affordable, renewable, and decarbonised heating and cooling will address these issues, making us healthier, safer and climate-neutral in the process while reducing energy poverty and strengthening our global competitiveness.
