Europe turns up the heat on old boilers
In an interview with FORESIGHT, Dominique Ristori, Director General for Energy in the European Commission, explains why Europe’s heating system is too old and dirty
Heating and cooling represent over half of EU energy consumption, more than 500 million tonnes of oil equivalent each year. Two-thirds is supplied by fossil fuels. The sector also accounts for 68% of gas imports. Dominique Ristori, Director General for Energy in the European Commission, the EU executive body, explains how Europe is working to decarbonise
Q: What is the problem?
A: Heating systems in homes and industries are frequently too old and beyond their technical lifetime. Almost half of buildings in the EU have individual boilers installed before 1992, with efficiency of 60% or less. Today efficiency rates are over 90%. These boilers need to be changed or modernised.
Q: How will the Commission change this?
A: In 2016, we adopted the first EU heating and cooling strategy for buildings and industry. The residential sector represents 45% of heating and cooling use, and industry 37%. This strategy was followed by the recently adopted Clean Energy for All Europeans package, establishing the most advanced regulatory framework in the world to accelerate the clean energy transition. ...
Try FORESIGHT - 30 days for €29
Related articles
Squaring military, energy and environmental security: NATO’s approach
Learnings from business and science will help NATO engage better in the energy transition and create a resilient and energy-efficient military, explain the security organisation’s Antonio Missiroli and Michael Rühle
Smart grids require much more smart thinking
Smart grid has become a trendy term, but some proper thinking is needed about its meaning and the purpose of information technology advances if the result is to advance the energy transition
Where does change start if the future is already decided?
Distribution system operators could compromise the energy transition if they delay their response to changes in the networks, says Serge Colle, EY Global Power and Utilities Advisory Leader
The Dutch Energiewende: Goodbye to natural gas
The Netherlands faces an unprecedented transformation as it aims in the next 30 years to switch off its gas supplies in favour of cleaner fuels
An invitation to the energy transformation
As the European Investment Bank launches a public consultation on future energy lending, Vice President Andrew McDowell argues for a doubling in energy investments in the next ten years