The Renewables Heating Campaign

The Warm Homes 4 All campaign is an initiative of CAN Europe Network to promote sustainable renewable heating solutions for all homes across Europe.

This is a solution-oriented campaign, co-created with members and working closely with partners.

We aim to support change at national level for the full decarbonisation of the heating sector based on energy efficiency and renewables. Campaigning at the national level is key to raise awareness and strengthen the public discourse on the importance of moving away from fossil fuels and inefficient systems.

This is a pan-European campaign, so we will facilitate and support the participation of NGOs from countries outside the European Union.

#HeatHomesNotThePlanet

The heating sector urgently needs to become renewable, accessible, efficient and affordable for all

We need to transform European houses where more than 450 million of us live, study and work to sustainable and climate-friendly buildings which will have positive impacts on peoples’ everyday lives, to make them more comfortable, safe, and healthy.

For this to happen, a shift to a 100% renewable heat supply in combination with deep building renovations and improving energy efficiency standards is urgently needed for all households, especially vulnerable and low-income households, who need to receive the necessary support to heat and/or cool their homes while improving energy savings. This transition can alleviate the effects of energy poverty through a greater resilience to fossil fuel prices rises and help lower household’s energy costs.

Fossil fuels have no place in our future and the provision of fossil fuel subsidies along with the installation of fossil fuel boilers in all new and renovated buildings should be stopped by 2025 at the latest. Instead, old heating systems in buildings need to be replaced with sustainable, renewable heating solutions, such as heat pumps powered by renewable electricity that capture ambient and geothermal heat. Also district heat networks can also be the bridge linking renewable energy production with people, be it in the form of solar thermal geothermal heat, sustainably sourced biomass or electricity from renewable sources.

We all have to make sure that the transition is inclusive and delivers benefits for everyone, especially the most vulnerable. Governments need to implement the legislation and ensure adequate funding to accelerate the process. Local authorities need to prepare energy infrastructure for local renewable heating potentials and energy savings, working jointly with social housing projects, energy communities and energy professionals.

Europe urgently needs to address energy poverty, heating challenges and the climate crisis, we have all the solutions and funds in our hands to solve it.

NEWS & RESOURCES

Below is the latest news from the campaign.

Making Renewable Heating Accessible and Affordable in the rental sector

This briefing explores what is needed to make renewable heating accessible and affordable for tenants living in Europe, with a special focus on the energy poor. At its core lies the idea that the heating decarbonisation transition should not leave anyone behind, regardless of their income and their tenancy status.

The Report is available to read in:

EN ES BG Infographic

“Sustainable renewable heating solutions are already available across Europe, but change isn’t happening fast enough. When it comes to the ongoing fossil fuel crisis, the elephant in the room is the heating installations running on fossil fuels, leading to rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions and energy poverty. If we are to protect the people and the climate in winters to come, clear policy objectives, more financial support, a skilled workforce and easy access to independent information for all, are essential to transform European countries’ outdated heating systems to renewable and efficient models.”

“The awareness of the need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable options in heating of buildings increased significantly with the rise of energy prices in 2022. Although there are several plans for energy refurbishment of buildings in Croatia, no comprehensive planning for heating decarbonisation exists. For citizens to be able to install new heating systems based on renewable energy, clear funding options are needed as well as the support to the most vulnerable households to avoid (energy) poverty and deepening class differences.”

"It is very important that member states take responsibility when it comes to heating decarbonization. A ban on new fossil boilers in buildings is the first step to ensure that we work against an oil and gas lock in the heating sector. Meaningful support schemes for district heating and heat pumps can push a fast fossil heat phase out."

"Energy efficiency is a strategic key option for lowering energy prices, increasing energy security and tackling energy poverty. Although Italian fiscal supporting schemes for buildings’ renovations represent an advanced example at European level, they are affected by temporal instability, regulatory fragmentation and weak effectiveness. in order to make energy efficiency and heating decarbonization good options for economic growth and energy security, a long-term planning for building decarbonization coupled with an adequate financial support mechanism is needed"

"There are a plethora of reasons to embrace the transition to renewable heating, especially given the current international context. We all have heard by now how important it is to become energy independent, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. This transition will bring us closer to achieving our climate goals and will have direct consequences on European citizens improving our health and comfort, business competitiveness, and saving money in our energy bills. Energy efficiency is key and many options are already available in the market to enable citizens to take advantage of it. In order to boost this transition, many barriers have been identified and action from not only public administration, but also citizens and industry."

Briefing: Making Renewable Heating Accessible and Affordable in the rental sector

Millions of European households have been making the difficult choice between heating and eating this winter as the cost of living and heating bills remain relatively high. This burden is

Submission to public consultation on EU’s Heat Pump Plan

Rolling out heat pumps is central to the clean-energy transition and to achieving carbon neutrality in line with the goals set in the European Green Deal. All policy scenarios underpinning

REPORT: Embracing a renewable heating revolution in our buildings!

CAN Europe’s launches a new report on renewable heating, which finds that ineffective EU and national policies are not keeping up with demand as homes and businesses look to reduce

Energy Monitor Op-ed: CEE countries must not spend EU money to finance natural gas in district heating

In spite of EU climate goals and soaring gas prices, an EU Modernisation Fund for energy systems has spent €167m over the past year to potentially convert coal-fired heat and

Building and heating decarbonisation for all: Embedding short-term fixes into a long-term structural approach

Energy poverty is not a new phenomenon: In 2019, 1 in 4 households in the EU, over 50 million individuals, could not afford to adequately heat, cool or light their

Repowering for the People: Flagship actions the Commission’s plan ‘REPowerEU’ should feature in the current fossil fuel and energy prices crisis

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the fossil fuel crisis more than ever. In addition to the current level of climate emergency, we are experiencing a paradigm shift on the scale

It’s time to get fossil fuels out of our homes

There are more than 450 million of us living, studying and working in buildings across Europe that currently account for around 40% of all energy consumed and 36% of greenhouse

Renewable Heat For All – Manifesto

As fossil gas prices have soared, millions have been left at even greater risk of energy poverty. It has never been clearer that we need renewable, affordable energy for all.

Below is the Renewable Heating Campaign’s Visual Gallery. Please feel free to download the images here.

They are available in six different languages (Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, English, Portuguese & Spanish)

COLLABORATIONS

Below are some of the publications that members have collaborated on under the Renewables Heating Campaign.

Heating Op-ed in El Pais; CAN Europe and ECODES collaboration

An Op-ed article in Spain’s national newspaper El Páis on heating homes in a climate neutral manner through installing heat

With over 185 member organisations active in 38 European countries, representing over 1,500 NGOs and more than 47 million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.

www.caneurope.org

Climate Action Network Europe
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Brussels 1050, Belgium

CAN Europe Headquarters
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Tel: +32 (0) 28944670

CAN Europe empowers civil society organisations to influence the design and development of effective climate change policy in Europe, both in the European Union as well as in its Member States and in European countries outside the EU.