Air Pollution from Heating and Cooling: Urgent Need for Clean Energy Transition in the EU
Air pollution remains a significant environmental and public health concern across the EU, with the heating and cooling sector playing a major role in the release of harmful pollutants. This sector is responsible for a substantial proportion of emissions, including 73% of particulate matter (PM2.5), 33% of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 2% of ammonia (NH3), 18% of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), 61% of carbon monoxide (CO), and 49% of sulfur dioxide (SO2). These pollutants originate largely from buildings and homes and present serious health risks.
Stricter Air Quality Targets
The revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directive now aligns EU standards more closely with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) air quality guidelines. As a result, many EU Member States will need to intensify their efforts to meet the stricter 2030 air quality targets. Accurately identifying the main drivers of air pollution is crucial for recommending cleaner alternatives to current energy practices.
Heating Sector Emission Trends and Energy Transition
While there has been a gradual transition toward less polluting energy sources for heating across the EU, the majority of heat production is still generated by combustion devices. According to a Joint Research Centre (JRC) study, such devices accounted for 97% of heat production in 2022.
Over the last two decades, progress has been made in improving the energy efficiency of heating systems. Between 2005 and 2022, the EU27 reduced its overall gross final energy consumption (GFEC) by 9.5%. Meanwhile, the heating and cooling sector achieved an even greater reduction of 16%, driven by both improved building insulation and more efficient heating appliances.
Renewables are also playing a growing role in the energy mix. The use of heat pumps, which emit no direct pollutants, has grown six-fold since 2005, now accounting for 3.7% of gross final energy consumption. However, despite renewable energy forming 25% of the heating and cooling sector’s energy share in 2022, heat pumps only contribute 15%, highlighting the need for further expansion of low-emission technologies.
Residential Sector and Key Pollutants
The residential sector remains the dominant source of pollutant emissions from heating, contributing 85% of PM2.5, 82% of NMVOCs, 79% of ammonia, and 76% of CO emissions. These figures underscore the importance of setting stricter emission limits for heating appliances in homes. Biomass combustion is a major source of PM2.5, while both biomass and gas combustion significantly contribute to NOx emissions.
Detailed analysis from the JRC, building on research from the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), identified three critical factors influencing emissions:
1. Fuel Type: Options range from natural gas, wood, and oil to pellets and electricity.
2. Technology: Methods include stoves, chimneys, boilers, and heat pumps.
3. System Efficiency: Higher efficiency reduces overall emissions.
National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs)
The study also evaluated the 2019 and 2023 draft National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), which outline Member States’ strategies to meet 2030 energy and climate targets. The findings reveal a general increase in renewable energy goals.
Countries like Sweden and Denmark have made ambitious proposals. Sweden has set a target of achieving a 73% renewable energy share in heating and cooling by 2030, while Denmark aims for an even higher 77%, representing a 17-percentage-point increase from its 2019 plan. However, 12 Member States have renewable energy projections that fall short of the EU’s updated requirements. The European Commission has issued recommendations urging these countries to raise their ambitions in line with the new targets.
Projections for heat pump adoption indicate a potential 22% rise by 2030, while biomass heating targets remain relatively stable, with some countries scaling back biomass-related goals due to air quality concerns. These trends highlight the complex challenge of balancing energy needs with air quality and decarbonization goals.
EU Policy Framework
To address these challenges, the EU
Leave a Reply