Development of renewables in the heat supply sector raises different issues. Today, renewables provide 24%of primary energy demand for heat supply, the main contribution coming from the use of biomass. The lack of district heating networks is a severe structural barrier to the large scale utilisation of geothermal and solar thermal energy. Past experience shows that it is easier to implement effective support instruments in the grid-connected electricity sector than in the heat market, with its multitude of different actors. Dedicated support instruments are required to ensure a dynamic development.

In the Energy [R]evolution Scenario, renewables satisfy more than 70% of the total global heating demand in 2050.

• Energy efficiency measures can decrease the current per capita demand for heat supply by 30% in spite of improving living standards.
• For direct heating, solar collectors, biomass/biogas as well as geothermal energy will increasingly substitute for fossil fuel-fired systems.
• A shift from coal and oil to natural gas in the remaining conventional applications will lead to a further reduction of CO2 emissions.