- Commission passes the buck
Legislation on heating and cooling will be included in the future framework directive on renewable energy, expected in the fall or winter of 2007. Rather than proposing specific targets, however, the Commission will only provide "indications", leaving the specifics up to member states.
- No role for bio energy?
EU policies are clearly more focused on the use of biofuels for transport (EurActiv LinksDossier) than for heating and cooling. Speaking at a 24 May conference on biofuels, a Commission spokesperson explained that it is "easy" to integrate biomass and biofuels into both home heating and district heating infrastructure, and that is why policymakers' efforts have been more focused on the more difficult task of integrating biofuels into the transport sector.
- District heating
District heating is particularly widespread in new member states from Central and Eastern Europe because of the continued use of Communist-era facilities. Since the enlargement of the EU in 2004, district heating contributes 10% to the EU's total heat demand. There is considerable potential for the use of renewable energy sources, industrial waste and industrial surplus heating in district heating facilities, which can provide heat for entire neighborhoods or city sections. The increased use of combined heat and power (CHP) or cogeneration (EurActiv 10/05/07) in district heating facilities also presents a significant potential for reduced CO2 emmissions.
- A problem of visibility?
EREC, the European Renewable Energy Council, suggests that the lack of awareness of the potential for reducing GHG emmissions from heating and cooling is due to the relatively scant political attention given to the issue and to an under-representation of SMEs in the renewables sector at European level. With respect to district heating, it "faces problems competing with individual heating", according to the Commission. In an effort to address this issue, EU finance ministers agreed in February 2006 to reduce the VAT rate for district heating, which was at nearly 20% in France (EurActiv 03/02/06).
