Webinar: Getting to low-carbon district heating

Modern, low-carbon district heating networks are important vectors for the decarbonisation of the European residential heating sector. However, they only supply 12% of residential heating demand in the EU, and face numerous challenges, including inefficiencies and fossil fuel dependency in legacy urban heating systems in Central and Eastern Europe. In the light of the recent Fit for 55 package and the RePowerEU plan, efficient district heating systems are increasingly in focus as solutions for decarbonisation.

This webinar presented and discussed findings of a report "District heating in national long-term strategies" by Energy Policy Group. The analysis, presented by Luciana Miu, Head of Clean Economy Programme (Energy Policy Group) analyses the role of district heating in Member States’ LTSs. The report describes the current situation, highlights key challenges and shortcomings of published LTSs, and proposes a way forward for integrating efficient, low-carbon and reliable district heating systems into climate neutrality strategies.

The presentation was followed by a panel discussion featuring industry representatives and sector experts:

• Morgan Henley (CEE Bankwatch)
• Andreas Graf (Agora Energiewende)
• Claudiu Cretu (Termoenergetica)
   

The webinar was part of the Climate Recon 2050 project. The project created a space for experience sharing among representatives from different EU countries and provided opportunities for exchange, support and capacity building for EU Member States engaged in the complex process of planning how to reach deep greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2050.

The event took place on 3 November, from 15:00-16:30 CET, via the Zoom platform. Please find the full agenda below. You can watch the recording of the webinar on YouTube.