Brussels – Stockholm, Paris and Vienna lead the pack in a new ranking of 15 major European cities on their transition away from fossil-fuel heating, commissioned by Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe.
This report comes as EU policymakers are discussing key policies for the bloc’s energy future. While rising gas prices loom ahead of heating season, the report shows that many cities across Europe continue to invest in gas infrastructure and fossil gas dependency. It also highlights tangible benefits both for cities and their residents where the phase-out is advanced.
Greenpeace is calling on the EU to stop seeking new deals for additional gas imports and to instead commit to a fossil gas phase-out by 2035. Greenpeace is urging the EU to develop support schemes allowing cities and local governments to accelerate the transition to affordable, decentralised renewable energy, while protecting residents against unaffordable transition costs – highlighting opportunities in the EU’s energy security plans, new budget and governance rules on energy and climate action.
“Fossil gas fuels extreme weather, drives up the cost of living and threatens Europe’s independence. Seeing so many major cities across Europe struggling to get rid of fossil gas heating should be a wake-up call for policymakers. Europe’s transition away from fossil gas will be won or lost in large part at the local level. Cities and local governments must accelerate their transition, and this will only happen with a clear EU pathway to phase out fossil gas, and direct regulatory and financial support from EU and national governments”, said European energy campaigner Eszter Matyas, from Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe.
Stockholm, Paris and Vienna top the ranking with strong long-term planning, major heat-network investments, and robust social protections. Copenhagen and Amsterdam are ranked as progressing cities, with clear progress yet remaining heavily locked into fossil gas infrastructure. The middle tier – Budapest, Prague, Berlin, Warsaw and Brussels – present contrasting profiles: some perform better in governance while others have stronger current outcomes, but all are constrained by incomplete transition pathways. At the bottom of the ranking, Athens, Rome and Bucharest suffer from fundamental gaps: high fossil fuel lock-in, incomplete citywide planning, and weak delivery mechanisms.
The ranking shows that the biggest gap is no longer ambition, but delivery, in cities studied. Among key priorities for cities seeking to retire fossil heating without transferring costs and risks to residents, Greenpeace identifies setting a phase-out date for fossil heating; translating spatial heat plans into named projects, budgets and delivery dates; excluding new fossil boilers; and targeting inefficient and energy-poor homes first have proven crucial.
The report also compiles case studies highlighting tangible benefits of renovation and renewable energy projects in the ranked cities. Heat pump, insulation and solar projects across Paris, Vienna and Madrid delivered cuts to people’s energy bills. Power-to-heat plant and electric boiler installations linked to storage facilities in Berlin and Amsterdam have proven resilient to both fuel-price and supply shocks. Stockholm and Copenhagen show how renewable heating can reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, improving energy security. Local gas boiler closure in Warsaw translated into a reduction in air pollution from NOx and particulate matter. Besides air quality, thermal comfort can also be improved through renovation, as projects in Paris or Berlin show.
Notes:
Read the full report: “Gas-Free cities? European Urban Heat Transition Ranking – A ranking of 15 European cities on fossil-heat phase-out, infrastructure, delivery and social fairness” by Dr Mehmet Börühan Bulut, commissioned by Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe
Contacts:
Dr Eszter Matyas, Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe energy campaigner: +36 304 09 06 89, [email protected]
Greenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, [email protected]
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Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace. We do not accept donations from governments, the EU, businesses or political parties. Greenpeace has over three million supporters, and 26 independent national and regional organisations with offices in more than 55 countries.
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