Clearing the Air: how clean air can slash air pollution and reduce social costs
This report, published by Clean Heat Europe, showcases how clean air solutions drastically reduce air pollution such as PM2.5, NOx, and carbon monoxide, and that clean heat deployment can reduce the annual average social cost per household derived from heating and cooling.
Read the full report here.
Executive Summary
The total cost of health-related social costs derived from outdoor air pollution due to domestic heating and cooling by households in the EU27+UK amounted to circa €29 billion (0.2% of the area’s total GDP) in 2018.
When calculating annual health-related social costs from heating and cooling, both by household and by heating technology, the worst offenders are the same: wood, coal, oil and gas.
Clean heat solutions such as heat pumps, district heating and cooling, geothermal, solar thermal and direct electric heating all help eliminate social costs almost entirely.
Some of the key pollutants associated with residential heating and cooling-related emissions are PM2.5 particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon mMonoxide (CO).
Key policy actions to bring down heating-related health and social costs, and to reduce air pollution from heating and cooling include:
Households’ total ownership costs for heating and cooling appliances must be lowered by improving affordability, addressing the electricity to gas price ratio, and coordinating effective subsidy schemes
Support large-scale investment schemes and facilitate the business case for clean heat facilities and the expansion and modernisation of heating networks to address the high upfront costs, while also rebalancing taxation on such facilities.
Ensure and support the full implementation of the EU Green Deal across all areas, including energy legislation as well as air quality policy, to ensure a clear long-term business case for clean heating and cooling
Include in the Heating and Cooling Strategy, support for Member States working to transpose the AAQD as well as progress towards meeting targets of the the NECD, with earmarked heating related funding available to support member states that implement sectorally-relevant targets and objectives for air pollution reduction sourced from heating and cooling.
Read the full report here.