{"id":612,"date":"2017-02-03T08:06:04","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T07:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eebtestsite.oldcontinent.eu\/?page_id=612"},"modified":"2025-10-06T16:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T14:57:11","slug":"energy-savings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/en\/work-areas\/climate-change\/heating-and-cooling\/","title":{"rendered":"Heating and Cooling"},"content":{"rendered":"
Heating and cooling make up the largest share of household energy use in the EU<\/span> – <\/span>and are among the biggest drivers of emissions and fossil fuel dependence. At the EEB, we work on policies and solutions that help households move away from fossil fuels and climate-harming refrigerants, connecting climate action with social fairness and energy independence.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/h5>\n

Buildings decarbonisation<\/h4>\n

Every European relies on energy to heat their homes, heat water, and increasingly, cool their living spaces. This reality comes with three major costs:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Climate<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Heating and cooling account for around\u00a0one-third of EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.<\/strong> Most of this energy still comes from imported fossil fuels, especially gas. At the same time, leaks of fluorinated gases (F-gases)<\/strong> \u2014used as refrigerants in many air conditioners and heat pumps\u2014 are a growing source of powerful greenhouse emissions, often thousands of times more potent than CO\u2082.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Health –<\/strong> The burning of fossil fuels and biomass for heating is a major source of air pollution<\/strong> across Europe, responsible for deadly levels of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. These pollutants worsen respiratory diseases and cause tens of thousands of premature deaths every year.<\/li>\n
  3. Social<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Energy poverty is rising, affecting even middle-class households. More than 40 million Europeans struggle to heat their homes adequately<\/strong>, while growing heatwaves are forcing many to seek new ways to stay cool. Every day, countless families face the impossible choice between keeping warm, staying cool, or putting food on the table.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While car ownership and lifestyles add to individual energy footprints, the fact that almost all of us live in conditioned dwellings makes heating and cooling a universal concern – and a climate and social priority.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    At the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), we have long worked on heating and cooling. Decarbonising this sector is essential to tackling climate change, which continues to devastate Europe year after year through wildfires, droughts, and floods. The cost of inaction falls on public budgets, and those who suffer most are often the most vulnerable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Our approach<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n