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.
The EU must “back its cities”
These are the messages presented by city leaders in a new Eurocities policy statement, setting 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 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.
Back cities with stable rules, smart standards and simple finance, and we’ll deliver clean heat faster and fairer
“This transition will be won or lost in our streets. Back cities with stable rules, smart standards and simple finance, and we’ll deliver clean heat faster and fairer,” says André Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities.
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.
For example, the city of The Hague is phasing out natural gas by 2030 through a neighbourhood-based transition model. Its Heat Transition Vision combines district heating, geothermal and aquathermal sources, and residual industrial heat from the Rotterdam port pipeline. District-level plans are co-created with residents and businesses, and pilot neighbourhoods are already testing collective solutions, from low-temperature networks to heat harvesting under public spaces. This bottom-up, area-focused approach ensures solutions match dense urban conditions while building trust.
Vienna is following a similar path, aiming for a fully fossil-free heating supply by 2040. The city is expanding and decarbonising district heating in dense areas while rolling out low-temperature networks and building-level heat pumps elsewhere. Its ‘100 projects out of gas’ programme pilots alternatives in social housing, municipal buildings and private homes, demonstrating practical pathways before scaling city-wide. Vienna’s structured roadmap gives clarity to households and investors, while maintaining affordability and social support.
The EU Strategy must enable this flexibility 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.
The Social Climate Fund should be designed and implemented with cities
The city of Ghent prioritises fair access to clean heat through its City Heating Vision 2024. The strategy centres on heat pumps and small-scale district systems, ensuring homes become “heat-pump-ready” through insulation and renovation support. A one-stop-shop helps households plan upgrades when boilers reach end-of-life, and low-income neighbourhoods and social housing are targeted first. Ghent’s approach highlights the need for local autonomy, affordable electricity, and clear national phase-out signals to unlock investment and protect vulnerable residents.
“If we want trust, we must make this fair. The Social Climate Fund should be designed and implemented with cities as full partners so help reaches people who need it first,” says André Sobczak.
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.
With a strong strategy, the EU can provide the rules, capacity and finance that turn local plans into pipes, plants and programmes
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.
The choice facing Europe
The message from local leaders is clear: cities are ready to deliver. They are decarbonising district networks, recovering waste heat, deploying heat pumps that fit dense urban areas and engaging residents in fair pathways. However, city governments cannot do it alone.
“With a strong Heating and Cooling Strategy, the EU and its member states can provide the rules, capacity and finance that turn local plans into pipes, plants and programmes,” says André Sobczak.
“The prize is tangible and shared: lower emissions, cleaner air, stronger energy security and clean, affordable heating and cooling for every household.”
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To learn more:
Read Eurocities policy statement on heating and cooling.
Visit the Covenant of Mayors Europe Heat Detox campaign, for access to practical guidance, success stories, tools, and publications on the decarbonisation of heating and cooling.
And find out more about cities’ work to respond to energy poverty.
