Heat waves are exacerbating already existing social inequalities across Europe. On the frontline of climate risks, local governments play a key role in simultaneously addressing climate threats and their impact on growing disparities in our cities.
As climate change accelerates, it's becoming increasingly clear that its impacts are not felt equally. In societies already marked by deep inequalities, rising temperatures are deepening the divide. Extreme heat doesn't strike everyone the same way, hitting harder depending on where you live, your income level, the condition of your home, and your health.
Heat waves are thus emerging as silent amplifiers of social injustice, quietly aggravating existing disparities and threatening social cohesion. Nowhere is this more visible than in our cities, where rising temperatures collide with urban inequality.
Low-income neighbourhoods bear the brunt. Densely populated areas often lack trees, green spaces, and well-insulated housing, making them especially vulnerable to the urban heat island effect. Many residents live in poorly ventilated buildings with little or no access to adequate cooling, which can turn deadly during extreme heat events.
Central Square of Sant Ildefons in Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain, on a summer afternoon
For local governments, this presents a dual challenge: cooling the city while closing the equity gap. Ensuring that all residents – especially the most vulnerable – can access cool, safe spaces isn’t just a matter of public health. It’s also a matter of social justice.
Cities must now find ways to #Refresh equitably, by investing in accessible and affordable cooling solutions that leave no one behind.
Increased demand for cooling in cities aggravates social inequalities
Overheating in buildings affects an estimated 9% to 20% of the EU's population, due mainly to poor construction quality and low thermal efficiency. As a result, energy use for cooling is rising uncontrollably.
Currently, only 19% of European households rely on air conditioning, a stark contrast to the 90% adoption rate in the United States. But that’s changing fast, as Europe heats at twice the global average. Between 2010 and 2019, energy consumption for space cooling in residential buildings across the 19 euro-area countries already tripled.
If current policies remain in place, by mid-century, cooling could account for as much as 71% of residential energy use in Southern European homes. Globally, the total installed capacity of cooling systems is expected to triple by 2050.
The soaring demand for cooling risks undermining decarbonisation efforts and jeopardising governments' climate neutrality objectives. While air conditioning offers a quick fix against rising heat, it also drives climate change, consuming large amounts of electricity (often still derived from fossil fuels) and using hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants that have thousands of times the global warming potential of CO₂.
They also worsen the urban heat island effect, making densely populated areas even hotter and less liveable. Relying on them to adapt to rising temperatures only leads to “maladaptation”, worsening the problem we’re trying to solve.
Crucially, the unequal burden of this rising demand reveals and reinforces existing social disparities. As electricity prices climb and AC use spreads, energy-poor households are increasingly unable to keep cool. Already, 19% of households in the EU – meaning one in five EU homes – struggle to stay cool in summer.
Although we often associate energy poverty with people not being able to warm their homes in winter, the proportion of people not being to cool their homes in summer is five times higher.
The importance of integrated planning
To tackle the growing inequality fuelled by rising temperatures, cities must embed summer energy poverty into their climate adaptation strategies. That means going beyond standalone cooling measures to understand where and how people are most vulnerable, using specific indicators to inform planning.
Climate adaptation, when combined with measures to fight energy poverty, creates a more resilient and fair urban response to extreme heat. This integrated approach is at the heart of the Covenant of Mayors, which mobilises cities to act on mitigation, adaptation, and energy poverty in the same plan.
Today, adaptation commitments under the Covenant of Mayors already cover over 200 million people across the EEA-38 region, supporting the European Green Deal’s promise to “leave no one behind.”
Cities across Europe are adopting what’s now being called a just resilience approach: climate adaptation that’s not only effective but also equitable. It mirrors the concept of a just transition, ensuring that vulnerable populations are central to the response.
The EU initiative, the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH), helps cities coordinate efforts through dedicated working groups, aligning local plans with broader EU energy poverty strategies.
Putting people at the centre of adaptation
Citizen engagement and participation is key to equitable adaptation. Barcelona, through the CooltoRise project, is pairing educational campaigns with targeted support, informing residents and training professionals about energy-saving methods and financial assistance for enhancing summer thermal comfort.
In its broader CLIMA 2018-30 action plan, Barcelona has put citizens in the centre of its climate adaptation strategy, with 85% of adaptation measures co-developed through community engagement, particularly in marginalised neighbourhoods. Among these, Barcelona developed a Superblock programme aimed at transforming the urban landscape and expanding access to green spaces, which involved a wide range of vulnerable groups in the decision-making process.
This approach stretches beyond the city centre and is applied in the smaller municipalities surrounding Barcelona. As part of the Covenant of Mayors' pilot programme on Adaptation that ran until 2024, the municipality of Cornellà de Llobregat in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area developed 'Climate Itineraries', co-designing pathways to ensure accessibility to vital community spaces during extreme temperatures.
Greening of streets in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, © Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB)
Cooling strategies for the most vulnerable
Several European cities are addressing summer energy poverty by directly renovating public and social housing.
In Zaragoza, Spain, the Renaissance project has transformed the Valdespartera eco-district using bioclimatic design principles. Homes are built with double orientations to maximise natural ventilation, façades are insulated, timber lattice sunshades reduce solar gain, and solar panels provide renewable energy, all helping to maintain indoor comfort without increasing energy bills.
In Paris, the “Paris at 50°C” plan includes shaded parks, fountains, and cooling shelters in low-income districts. These accessible cooling zones provide immediate relief while being complemented by long-term adaptations such as building retrofits using passive cooling methods.
Getafe, also in Spain, has launched a two-phase programme to rehabilitate social housing. The first, EPIU Hogares Saludables, identified overheating risks and implemented targeted upgrades. Building on this, Getafe Rehabilita now scales these interventions with façade insulation, green infrastructure, and passive cooling techniques, helping to reduce heat stress for vulnerable households.
Collaboration with neighbourhood organisations in the development of tactical urban planning actions to involve citizens within the Strategy for the Rehabilitation and Regeneration of the Built Environment of Getafe: Getafe Rehabilita. © EMSV - Getafe City Council.
The role of sustainable district cooling
While passive measures are crucial, extreme heat events increasingly demand low-energy active systems powered by renewables. Technologies like heat pumps can offer efficient alternatives to traditional AC, especially important for people with disabilities or health vulnerabilities.
Larger-scale innovations are also gaining ground. In Paris, a partnership between the city, ENGIE, and RATP is rolling out an expanded, carbon-neutral district cooling network.
Known as Fraîcheur de Paris, the project will triple the network’s size, cooling over 3,000 buildings – including schools and hospitals - using 100% renewable electricity and free cooling from the Seine.
It’s expected to cut 300,000 tons of CO₂ emissions and save 130,000 m³ of water annually. The system will also serve the 2024 Olympic Village, which is set to become 2,800 homes after the Games, including social housing.
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To find out more about summer energy poverty, check out the European Commission's latest Report, “Framing Energy Poverty: Insights and Recommendations for a resilient future”.