Thematic Plenary: Will access to cooling be tomorrow’s great inequality?

Description

The European continent is warming twice as fast as the global average. The past three years have been the hottest ever recorded in Europe, and the average number of days under “strong” and “very strong” heat stress has been increasing since 1980 (C3S & WMO, 2025). While more than 60,000 heat-related deaths are estimated to have occurred in 2024 (Janoš et al., 2025), heat-related mortality could triple and economic losses quintuple if Europe continues on its current trajectory towards 3°C warming by 2050 (García-León et al., 2021, 2024). Heat discomfort in homes and workplaces will have uneven impacts depending on individual vulnerability.

While access to heating in winter has traditionally been considered a right, access to cooling during heatwaves is becoming a major public health and social justice issue. However, the increasingly frequent use of air conditioning places strain on electricity systems during peak demand periods (Voswinkel et al., 2025), increases household energy bills (De Cian et al., 2025), and contributes to higher greenhouse gas emissions in the long term (Zhang et al., 2026).

The forthcoming EU Heating and Cooling Strategy, expected in 2026, therefore offers an opportunity to fundamentally redefine the EU’s approach to building renovation and indoor comfort. Combining technical solutions (buildings, district cooling networks), public policies, and regulatory frameworks, this workshop will assess territorial disparities and explore ways to address this challenge: how can access to cooling be guaranteed while avoiding the risk of maladaptation?