Decarbonising heating and cooling is an essential part of the transition to a low-carbon built environment. Yet according to Eurostat data, in 2021 renewables made up just 23 per cent of heating and cooling consumption in the EU.

With the majority of European heating and cooling currently reliant on fossil fuels, making sure that people can switch to renewable, sustainable and affordable solutions is essential. Our heating and cooling needs must be met in a way that advances climate action and our energy security, while being affordable and clean.

That’s why BPIE has joined forces with other NGOs, thinktanks and civil society organisations to form the Cool Heating Coalition, working together to make sustainable, renewable, and affordable heating and cooling a reality across the EU. Oliver Rapf, BPIE’s executive director, is a member of the coalition’s steering committee.

The coalition formally launched in Brussels on 19 March, where the Cool Heating Coalition presented its statement for the next EU mandate: an eight-point plan on securing sustainable, renewable and affordable heating and cooling (H&C) by 2040.

Next stop is the coalition’s first webinar, ‘Fahrenheit 2040: heating and cooling in the EU’, featuring policy options for heating and cooling decarbonisation by 2040. See here for more details and registration – it’s time to get ready for the #CoolHeatingRevolution !