The international climate summit COP28 kicks off on 30 November in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The EU will be present along with world leaders, ministers and officials from 198 countries and a whole host of observers and activists – and representatives of the heat pump sector.
COP28 is expected to the biggest summit of its kind. It is a crucial one, at which governments will ‘take stock’ of emissions reduction progress so far in order to agree on solutions to speed up progress. Another critical issue will be finance for those countries worst hit by the impacts of climate change.
On heating and cooling decarbonisation, it is essential that the importance of heat pumps is recognised. The International Energy Agency Around says that while 10% of space heating needs globally were met by heat pumps in 2021, government policy support is needed to help consumers overcome heat pumps’ higher upfront costs relative to alternatives. The IEA estimates heat pumps have the potential to reduce global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 500 million tonnes in 2030 worldwide – equal to the annual CO2 emissions of all cars in Europe today.
EHPA is part of the UN’s Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (Global ABC) which will be organising several events at COP28, and is hosting a Buildings Pavilion.
See GlobalABC’s events calendar
See the schedule of side events at COP28
Photo: Shutterstock / Alexandros Michailidis
