Editorial CONNECTING EUROPE’S CLEAN ENERGY
By Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing
Energy should provide comfort and security - not uncertainty. Yet today, too much of Europe’s heating and cooling still depends on imported fossil fuels, exposing households and businesses to volatile prices and geopolitical risks. Europe already has the clean heat resources and technologies to change this; now we must connect them through smarter, integrated heating and energy systems.
There is no denying the scale of the challenge. Heating and cooling account for around half of the European Union’s energy demand and more than a quarter of its greenhouse gas emissions. For European households, the challenge is even more pronounced: in 2023, space and water heating represented almost 78% of the final energy consumption, with most of this demand still being met by fossil fuels.
The reality is clear, but so is our response: we need cleaner heating and cooling in Europe. This is about much more than cutting emissions. It is about making energy more affordable for citizens, cities, and companies. It is about strengthening Europe’s energy security and boosting our competitiveness by making better use of local energy resources.
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HOTCOOL no.5 2026
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