Helping European cities transition to clean heating and cooling
Clean heating and cooling can help cities build healthier, more resilient communities
Heating and cooling account for nearly half of all energy use in Europe, with around 70% of heating still generated by fossil fuels. In 2024, the EU’s natural gas import dependency rate reached 85.6%.
Continued dependence on fossil fuels is driving emissions, increasing energy insecurity, and affecting people’s health and quality of life. Low-income and vulnerable communities are often hit hardest by high energy costs and air pollution.
Cities have the power to lead a fair transition to clean heat. By investing in renewable energy and cleaner heating systems, they can cut emissions, improve air quality, and create local jobs, ensuring the benefits reach those who need it most.
What clean heating and cooling will deliver
Reducing reliance on fossil fuels is essential to meet climate goals and improve the quality of life for residents. Transitioning to clean heating and cooling can help cities:
Cut greenhouse gas emissions
Building systems powered by fossil fuels are a major source of urban emissions. Transitioning to clean alternatives helps cities meet climate targets and reduce their environmental impact.
Improve air quality and public health
Reducing fossil fuel use lowers air pollution, helping improve health outcomes for residents and creating safer urban environments.
Reduce energy costs for residents
Cleaner heating and cooling systems reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets, helping to stabilise household energy bills over time.
Strengthen energy security
Diversifying heating systems helps European cities become less dependent on imported fossil fuels and better prepared for future challenges.
Create local green jobs
Investing in clean heating and cooling infrastructure supports local jobs and strengthens the green economy.
How C40 supports cities through the Clean Heat project
Practical support tailored to each city’s needs
C40 works directly with cities to develop practical strategies for transitioning to clean heating. This support includes:
Milan
Milan is the economic capital of Italy, generating 10% of the GDP in the world’s eighth-largest economy. Milan has already cut energy use by 25% to 35% across its 1,200 municipal buildings, through smarter heating systems and digital management hubs. Towards the end of 2026, the city will upgrade more than 102 public housing complexes with thermal insulation and energy-efficient technologies.
Working with C40, Milan will advance plans in pilot neighbourhoods to deliver decarbonised, reliable heating and cooling systems that improve air quality and well-being. These pilots will inform their city-wide integrated local energy strategy.
In Milan, we are taking decisive action to secure a sustainable and comfortable future for our citizens. Our goal is to foster a city where decarbonised, clean and reliable heating and cooling improves air quality and enhances the quality of life of residents. This will include a combination of district heating and cooling and the rollout of heat pumps.
Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan
Madrid
Madrid is making it easier and more affordable for residents to retrofit their homes and switch from fossil fuel boilers to clean heating systems, offering grants that cover up to 50% of installation costs. The Madrid 360 Sustainability Strategy drives this work, building a strong policy foundation, with subsidy schemes like Plan Rehabilita, Transforma tu Barrio and Cambia 360 accelerating energy-efficient retrofits and clean technology adoption.
Working with C40, Madrid will showcase key benefits of modernised heating and cooling systems, such as improved air quality, while supporting residents to transition to energy-efficient, affordable solutions. Madrid will develop a city-wide neighbourhood-level clean heating and cooling plan. This plan will serve as a roadmap for a transition to clean, modernised and more affordable energy for residents and businesses.
The Madrid City Council began in 2025 the preparation of the Local Heating and Cooling Plan. This plan, aligned with the Madrid 360 Sustainability Strategy, aims to guide the renovation of heating and cooling systems to improve air quality in the city, while also enhancing comfort in buildings at affordable prices for citizens and businesses in Madrid
Borja Carabante, Second Deputy Mayor Urban Planning, Environment and Mobility, Madrid
Paris
Paris is expanding Europe’s largest district heating network and making it easier for residents to replace fossil fuel systems with cleaner alternatives. Through the Plan Climat Air Énergie Territorial, the city provides grants and practical support to switch to district heating or heat pumps. Programs, including the Eco-Rénovons Paris, are helping to cover the upfront costs for lower-income households.
Working with C40, Paris will enhance their approach to neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood clean heating transition, expanding their plans for its district heat network and supporting condominium retrofit. This includes support to address transition barriers for small and medium-sized businesses.
In Paris, a city that gave its name to the 2015 Agreement, we bear a particular responsibility: to demonstrate that the ecological transition is not a distant horizon, but a tangible transformation. Phasing out fossil fuels is no longer an option – it is an absolute necessity if we are to preserve our quality of life, our health, and our shared future. We must accelerate the decarbonisation of our mobility, our buildings, and our modes of production and consumption. These actions must also be socially equitable, as the transition can only succeed if it brings all Parisians on board. Paris must live up to its history and its role: to act as a driving force and a model for the ecological transformation at both national and European levels.
Emmanuel Grégoire, Mayor of Paris
What Amsterdam’s clean energy transition can teach us
In Amsterdam, 70% of households rely on gas for heating. By mapping 481 neighbourhoods and identifying the most cost-effective transition for each area, Amsterdam is on track to phase out gas entirely by 2040; a full decade ahead of its original target. Financial support is in place to ensure low-income households aren’t left behind.
Inspired by Amsterdam’s approach, C40 is working with Paris, Madrid and Milan to develop their own neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood transition plans. This will help cities cut fossil fuel use, primarily fossil gas, in buildings in line with 1.5 °C targets, while protecting low-income households from rising energy costs.
Resources
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Cities are transitioning to clean energy, decarbonising buildings, and adopting cleaner construction practices to cut emissions whilst creating healthier, more resilient environments for all.
Cities are delivering climate action that addresses inequality, creates good green jobs, and ensures everyone has access to clean air, healthy food, and safe homes.
Discover how mayors and cities worldwide are delivering on their commitments to take urgent climate action through C40’s Accelerators.
