27/06/2024
A growing European movement for a community-driven energy transition
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Together with other partner organisations, the European Climate Foundation has launched the Renewable Heating and Cooling Alliance.
The Alliance is focused on the decarbonisation of the buildings sector, which is, today, one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Launched with the aim of helping to ensure a rapid, large-scale deployment of local, cost-effective, zero-emissions heating and cooling solutions, the Alliance is striving for a robust policy and funding framework. This will ensure that by 2030, half of the EU’s total heat and cooling consumption comes from solar heating, heat pumps, geothermal energy and district heating systems. Its manifesto calls for:
- An effective carbon pricing to all fossil heating installations operating in the EU
- Ending fossil fuel subsidies and their repurpose towards renewable heating and cooling applications
- Addressing heat and fuel poverty by upfront public finance
- Prioritising rapid, scalable action in the transition from fossil heating and cooling applications to large-scale renewable heating and cooling systems in buildings within a decade
Decarbonising the building sector
As part of its Building programme, the ECF is focusing on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector, which is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the EU. Around 25% of Europe’s CO2 emissions come from the heating equipment in our buildings, some of which are still relying on boilers powered by coal, oil, and fossil gas – heating systems that severely impact air quality.
Therefore, the ECF network is deploying its efforts to push for a transition from gas and oil boilers to efficient, zero-emissions heating. Not only is this key in achieving a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions society by 2050, a pledge made by the European Commission in their flagship European Green Deal, but it also has the potential to lead to healthier homes and cities, lower energy bills, fewer energy imports and more jobs.
Decarbonising the buildings sector will require a host of challenging actions:
- Energy consumption must become more efficient
- The remaining consumption must be switched to clean energy sources
- Embedded emissions must be reduced
The leap to fossil-free energy in buildings is the single most consequential move Europe can make. You can read more about the ECF Building’s programme and further information about heating here.
For more information about the Renewable Heating and Cooling Alliance, you can visit their website here.