Heat pumps, 52.5 Mt emissions avoided. The European Commission now needs to exploit them to the fullest to decarbonise the energy sector

According to the European Heat Pump Association, thanks to heat pumps, buildings are able to avoid up to 52.5 Mt of greenhouse gases per year, which correspond to the total emissions of Greece.

The construction sector is on the right path to be the key factor to the energy transition but the decarbonisation goals require urgent actions by politicians.

Heat pumps: France stands out, followed by Germany and Italy

In 2022, the total stock of 20 million heat pumps in all EU countries was reached. They have avoided 52.5 mega tons of greenhouse gases emissions per year, which is Greece’s annual total.

As stated by Thomas Nowak, General Secretary of the European Heat Pump Association, 2022 was an extremely important year for heat pump sales placing the EU in a world-leading position.

France is the most avant-garde country in terms of greenhouse gases emissions avoided thanks to heat pumps, with over 16 Mt. Germany and Italy are right behind, with over 5 Mt of CO2 avoided.

Nevertheless, if the values were to remain the same, they would still be too far away from the decarbonisation of heating and cooling by 2050. Indeed, energy policies are still too much in favor of fossil fuels,  especially regarding subsidies and taxation.

In any case, according to the EHPA, the issue will soon be addressed by the European Commission during the next action plan for heat pumps, which will have to take on a prominent role to achieve zero net emissions.

According to the Association, a “solution” could be to address the price distortion that favors gas over electricity and to support the European Commission proposal to gradually get rid of autonomous fossil fuel boilers.