Urban planning and education – A key ingredient for cool cities
From local planning gaps to smart heat pump solutions, cities are advancing integrated approaches to cooling despite limited national support.
Fossil-free citiesAbout
On 9th April, Energy Cities organised a new session of its Community of Practice on sustainable cooling, with a clear goal: to discuss the challenge of creating livable cities in a hotter climate.
In 2025, two initial sessions were held, and the insights gathered were integrated into a Policy Paper titled “How Are Cities Answering the Call for Fossil-Free Cooling?” The sessions includes testimonies from the City of Marseilles (France) and Forest (Belgium), along with expert contributions to frame the sustainable cooling challenge. The paper highlights the state of play at the EU level, where cooling demand is expected to account for nearly 9% of total energy demand by 2050, and explores both technical and nature-based solutions.
Energy Cities has outlined key recommendations for both cities and national authorities. You can check out the full set of recommendations in the paper.
Building coalitions for local cooling planning
In this latest session, we heard from Ecodes (Spain), a civil society organisation that has been working for over two years on the policy process for local heating and cooling plans. Their team conducted extensive consultations and produced the Heating and Cooling Guide, which provides clear guidance and recommendations for cities, while also calling for national support.
In Spain, one in three households struggles to keep their homes cool during hot days. Despite 162 cities being required to develop local heating and cooling plans, only one has managed to do so. This highlights the urgent need for cities to receive more support in implementing effective solutions.
Ecodes’ key recommendation for all stakeholders is straightforward: start building coalitions of the willing and don’t wait for the perfect legal or supportive framework. Moreover, it’s essential to start integrating cooling into urban planning from the outset, as integrated planning is a key component of successful solutions.
Heat pumps and smart technologies driving the cooling transition
Following our previous exploration of district cooling, this session also featured a presentation from a member of the European Heat Pump Association – Panasonic Europe. The presentation provided an overview of the latest technological developments, positioning heat pumps as one of the most common solutions for cooling buildings.
From individual heat pumps to collective systems, the transition from gas boilers to clean, heat-pump-based cooling solutions is underway. However, educating consumers on the efficient use of heat pumps is crucial for this transition. New technologies also offer smart management features, giving municipalities more flexibility and control over their cooling systems.
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