How are cities responding to the challenge of fossil-free cooling and rising heat?

Imagine it’s a sweltering summer afternoon. You turn on the news and hear that yet another city has opened emergency cooling centers, offering residents a temporary escape from the suffocating heat. There is talk of water restrictions, schools adjusting their hours to protect students, and warnings issued to the elderly and vulnerable, urging them to stay indoors—not just to avoid the scorching temperatures, but also to escape the thick, polluted air.

This is no longer an occasional event or a distant concern. Across Europe, cities are already grappling with increasingly intense and frequent heatwaves, each leaving a deeper mark on public health and the quality of life in urban areas. Heat represents the leading cause of climate-related deaths, responsible for approximately 48,000 lives lost in 2023 alone. In 2024, the Earth’s global temperature reached a critical increase of +1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels.

The consequences of rising temperatures are amplified in cities, where the risk of health issues and other heat-related hazards is notably higher. That’s why, mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are critical, and adaptation measures are equally essential to lower exposure and vulnerability, while boosting the resilience and adaptive capacity of cities.

This underscores the urgent and growing need to deliver on climate objectives. Central to this effort is the decarbonisation of energy systems. But how can cities implement sustainable, low-carbon solutions to cool their environments? And how can they effectively balance climate mitigation with the need to adapt to rising temperatures?

Dive into our policy paper to discover an overview of public cooling policies at the European level and meet the cities taking action.

Recommendations for cities

1. Heating and cooling planning ( a mandatory requirement for municipalities above 45.000 inhabitants) provides an excellent opportunity to assess a city’s cooling needs and potential. Cities should use this opportunity to address both heating and cooling. 
2. Citizens should be at the core of any strategy. Cities are best positioned to involve citizens in cooling planning. Participatory processes and stakeholder engagement should not be overlooked. 
3. Fossil-free cooling solutions already exist (e.g. district cooling), but additional solutions may come from nature-based approaches or integrated urban planning. Cities should maximise these opportunities to enhance energy efficiency, improve air quality, and benefit the natural environment.

Recommendations for national and EU authorities

1. National or/and regional authorities should develop guidelines and provide support for cities addressing their cooling needs.
2. Monitoring and gathering data to map the heat island effect or the lack of cool areas should be at the centre of any cooling strategy. Therefore, cities should be given the proper technical and financial support to collect and access these data.
3. Nature restoration measures should be mobilised to provide nature-based solutions for cooling. National authorities should design such policies in consultation with local authorities while integrating them into urban policies.
4. The EU Heating and Cooling Strategy (first semester of 2026) should include guidance on cooling planning and cooling solutions. The strategy must inform on the technical and financial support available for cities, ensuring that EU and national legal frameworks are fit for the deployment of sustainable cooling solutions.

Find out more.