Jose La Loggia, president of Commercial HVAC Europe, Middle East and Africa of Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator, will join Thomas Nowak, secretary general of the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) and other thought leaders to explore climate action strategies throughout Europe.

Mr La Loggia and Mr Nowak will discuss how to decarbonise cities through renewable energy sources for carbon-free heating and cooling in buildings, indoor spaces and industrial processes. They will encourage policymakers and industry to work together to create a positive framework that makes it easier for building owners and installers to make positive choices toward a more sustainable future.

“Trane Technologies launched its 2030 Sustainability Commitments last year and we continue to work toward efficient and sustainable heating and cooling solutions for buildings, homes and transportation that reduce global greenhouse gas emissions,” said La Loggia. 'The decisions we make today will impact generations to come. Collaborating with other thought leaders at the World Climate Forum Europe and partnering with associations like EHPA to encourage the industry and policymakers to take greater action is how we will make progress towards more sustainable, electrified, zero-emission cities.'

'Transforming the heating and cooling industry by incorporating sustainable practices is core to EHPA,' said Mr Nowak. 'Heating and cooling uses 50% of the European Union's annual final energy demand, about 75% of which being of fossil origin. Heat pump technology can deliver clean, efficient and cost-effective heating and cooling to drastically reduce the economy's carbon footprint, while also improving indoor and outdoor air quality. Embracing this readily available technology can allow policymakers to be more ambitious in setting targets on the way to a carbon neutral Europe by 2050.'

More than ever, indoor environmental quality – including heating and cooling - is critical to providing healthy and comfortable indoor spaces for occupants including students and office workers, healthcare patients, and allowing factories to run.

Compared to energy-intensive and emissions-generating gas and oil boilers, fully electric heat pumps and solutions like Trane Sintesis™ Balance CMAF, that can simultaneously deliver hot and chilled water for heating and cooling, are said to be 350% more energy efficient. They can recover and repurpose energy without generating its own carbon or NOx emissions. On top of that, if the building draws electricity from a grid that generates energy from renewable sources, these fully electric systems can deliver zero-emissions heating and cooling – a major step on the path to electrification and decarbonization of buildings and cities.

'If we really want to significantly reduce our carbon emissions and mitigate climate change, moving away from fossil fuel heating is critical,” said Mr La Loggia. “New and existing buildings and manufacturing facilities will be in use for decades to come. We must work together toward a cleaner, healthier and safer energy transition in Europe.'