C40 Cities partners with cities for clean building transition

C40 Cities is partnering with Paris, Madrid and Milan to transition buildings to clean energy in a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood approach.

The programme aims to support cities in meeting EU requirements under the Energy Efficiency Directive for cities to develop local heating and cooling plans. By focusing on neighbourhood-level delivery, C40 will work with the cities to help turn the Directive’s requirements into practical action that improves the lives of residents.

Aligning with climate targets

Through this new initiative, C40 will work with the three cities to design and implement localised energy strategies that reduce fossil fuel use in line with 1.5°C climate targets. These plans will also ensure that residents, particularly those in low-income households, are not left exposed to rising energy costs and can benefit from more modern, affordable heating and cooling.

Experience from leading European cities shows that a neighbourhood approach works. In Amsterdam, dividing the city into hundreds of smaller planning areas will enable a more targeted and cost-effective transition away from gas, putting the city on track to phase it out completely by 2040, a decade ahead of its original timeline.

“In Paris, a city that gave its name to the 2015 Agreement, we bear a particular responsibility: to demonstrate that the ecological transition is not a distant horizon, but a tangible transformation”

“Climate action isn’t just about global targets; it’s about the buildings we live in and the air we breathe,” said Júlia López Ventura, regional director for Europe at C40 Cities. “By transitioning away from fossil fuels neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood, we aren’t just lowering emissions – we are strengthening communities by prioritising clean and resilient systems for heating and cooling.”

Building on these lessons, C40 will support Paris, Madrid, and Milan to pilot a neighbourhood approach to the clean heating and cooling transition. This includes coordinating infrastructure investment, aligning local policies, and engaging communities to ensure the transition delivers comfortable homes, cleaner air, and lower energy bills.

• Paris will focus on enhancing their approach to neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood clean heating transition, leveraging their plans for district heat network expansion and support for condominium-led retrofit. The project will also help the city unlock barriers to action in small- and medium-sized enterprises
• Madrid will showcase key benefits of modernised heating and cooling systems, such as improved air quality, while supporting residents to transition to energy-efficient, affordable solutions. This builds on the Madrid 360 Sustainability Strategy and a strong policy base to drive energy efficiency retrofit and clean heat technology adoption, exemplified by Plan Rehabilita, Transforma tu Barrio, and Cambia 360 subsidy programmes.