Across Europe, heating and cooling account for about half of all energy use. Yet most systems still run on fossil fuels, slowing progress on climate goals, worsening air quality, and exposing households to volatile energy prices. According to Eurostat, around two-thirds of all fossil gas consumed in the EU in 2023 was used to produce heat or cold in buildings and industry.
The European Commission’s Heating and Cooling Strategy, expected in early 2026, is a pivotal opportunity to change this situation, accelerate the decarbonisation of the heating and cooling sector, and back solutions that already work in Europe’s neighbourhoods.
To succeed, the strategy must empower cities as central partners. With responsibilities in urban planning, procurement and public housing, city governments can design efficient systems tailored to residents’ needs and help meet the EU’s 2030 and 2050 climate targets.
These are the messages presented by city leaders in this Eurocities policy statement, which sets out what a credible EU Heating and Cooling Strategy must do to succeed. This includes empowering local delivery, removing regulatory and technical barriers, and unlocking investment
The EU must “back its cities”
The policy statement explains that cities are where this transition will succeed or fail. Local authorities plan neighbourhoods, manage permitting and procurement, oversee public housing, and often work with or own utilities. Cities can match technology to local needs, from expanding district heating networks to deploying building-level heat pumps, geothermal systems and waste-heat recovery.
However, delivery is currently uneven. The revised Energy Efficiency Directive requires municipalities above 45,000 residents to prepare local heating and cooling plans, while national governments must provide funding and technical support. But in many EU member states, legal frameworks and local capacity are not yet in place to meet these obligations effectively.
City leaders therefore call for stronger standards that work in dense urban settings, clear timelines to phase out fossil-fuel systems, and direct access to EU and national funding so that households, especially low-income families, can afford the switch to clean heat.
Recognise local realities, back the best mix
In the policy statement, city leaders state that heating and cooling must decarbonise quickly, but solutions must reflect the specific situation in local areas. Cities already combine approaches: modernising or extending district heating and cooling, building small local networks, rolling out building-level heat pumps and tapping geothermal, aquathermal, solar thermal and waste heat.
The EU Strategy must enable this flexibility for cities while keeping delivery quick and affordable. It should also remove practical barriers, enabling waste-heat recovery and connection, harmonising heat pump standards and urban noise rules, and supporting the scale-up of geothermal and aquathermal sources. Clear signals on which systems will be phased out and when will give investors the certainty they need.
Empower cities to deliver
City leaders make it clear that the implementation of local heating and cooling plans is uneven because many municipalities lack technical capacity, dedicated finance, data and tools.
The strategy must offer practical guidance tailored to city needs, training for staff, and tools to assess demand and design efficient systems. Peer learning and knowledge exchange between cities can help proven solutions spread faster.
Finance must be simple to access and scaled to need. City leaders call for direct access to the future EU Competitiveness Fund, CEF-Energy, the Modernisation Fund and FP10. Affordable capital and guarantees at EU and national level are needed to de-risk long-lived assets such as district networks and neighbourhood upgrades.
Ensure a fair and inclusive transition
City leaders explain that the transition must protect vulnerable households and ensure affordable, clean heating and cooling for all. Targeted subsidies, renovation in social housing and fair-tariff structures are essential to reduce energy poverty.
Member states need to work with regions and cities to deliver and monitor Social Climate Plans. National frameworks should enable cities and municipal utilities to introduce or coordinate social tariffs in district systems where appropriate.
Align data and planning through local partnerships
Municipalities need access to anonymised building-level energy data and relevant network information to design effective heating and cooling plans. The EU Strategy should also promote structured data sharing between municipalities, DSOs and utilities and ensure integrated urban planning so heat recovery, network expansion, renovation and grid investments move together.
Local and national co-creation
Decarbonisation will only succeed through co-creation. Cities should move from consultation to partnership, which means working with residents, building owners and energy communities to design practical solutions and keep benefits local.
National governments must also fully integrate local heating and cooling plans into their assessments under the Energy Efficiency Directive, so that bottom-up priorities align with national goals.
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