Heating of households accounts for 12% of CO₂- the emissions in Europe. This is because oil, coal and natural gas are still used throughout the EU for heating homes and domestic water. We also see the problem in Denmark – 380.000 households have individual natural gas boilers, while 60.000 have an oil boiler.

But heating does not have to be a big CO₂-sinner. Today there are good, green alternatives to fossil heating. District heating has existed in Denmark for more than 100 years and 1,7 million Danish homes are already connected to the district heating network. It is obvious to connect even more homes in the cities to the existing district heating networks. At the same time, district heating must be produced on the basis of heat pumps and green electricity. If homes are too scattered or too far from an existing district heating network, individual heat pumps are an energy-efficient and green solution.

In the Green Transition Denmark, we are working with the phasing out of coal, oil, natural gas and biomass in the heat supply both at home and in the EU.

In dialogue with politicians, companies, municipalities and other stakeholders, we want to restructure the heating sector and use Denmark as a good example in the EU.

We are pushing municipalities and the government to restructure the heating sector. It must, among other things, happen by introducing a national ban on installing new fossil-fired boilers, and then an end date for heating with oil and natural gas must be set by the end of 2027 at the latest. At the same time, biomass must be removed from the heat supply. Clear guidelines can speed up the roll-out of district heating and the spread of individual heat pumps, which will carry the green heat of the future in Denmark and abroad.

Period: 2021-2022

Financing: The project is supported by the European Climate Foundation