Brussels, 17 June 2015 - The EU Strategy for Heating and Cooling is the result of the increasingly positive attention policy-makers have been giving the Heating and Cooling (H&C) sector, and is a fundamental step in the recognition of its key role in the overall EU climate and energy objectives. The Strategy has the potential to lay solid and long-lasting foundations. The main objective of the Heat Strategy should be to define a pathway to achieve a sustainable, competitive and secure heat sector for Europe. Existing and upcoming policy initiatives should be developed in a coherent way.

Key recommendations for the renewable heat industry:

• More attention should be paid to the energy system as a whole. Renewables for heating and cooling are available and are ready to deliver. Their potential needs to be fully reached.
• A level playing field in the heat sector is not yet in place. Urgently, fossil fuels subsidies must be phased-out and their externalities priced.
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency go hand in hand. They must be addressed at the same time as they face similar barriers and can generate synergies.
• Special attention should be paid to the correct implementation of existing legislation, which should be strengthened beyond 2020.
• Policy makers should also promote awareness by informing individual, commercial, and industrial consumers as well as local public authorities and installers about all available options.
• RD&I in renewable heat technologies is needed to reduce costs, enhance system performance, and facilitate their integration. For the long-term the objective is to reach higher temperatures, which will be essential to decarbonise all industrial sectors.

Pathways to a smart and resilient energy union