The European Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) has welcomed the Communication from the European Commission on an EU Strategy on Heating and Cooling (COM(2016)0051), calling it an integral part of its Energy Union strategy.
In an opinion issued to the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), the ENVI Committee called on ITRE to incorporate a number of suggestions into its motion for a resolution on the strategy.
Noting that heating and cooling constitute the largest share of the EU’s energy demand, the ENVI Committee called on the Commission to fully utilise the heating and cooling sector in achieving cost-efficient gains in energy efficiency at system level, by linking heat and power production, industrial processes, waste management and demand-side management.
Emphasising the importance of technology-neutral and market-based incentives in the transition to a low-carbon and secure energy supply, and noting the varying conditions that exist in the Union, the Committee called on the Commission to promote technology-neutral instruments that would enable each community to develop cost-efficient solutions to reduce the carbon intensity of their heating and cooling sector.
The Committee noted in particular the widespread availability of solid biomass and the potential for district heating as a cost-efficient means of decarbonising the energy sector while also contributing to security of supply objectives.