Emma is an Analyst at BloombergNEF in the Heating and Cooling team. Recent output includes an analysis of decarbonization pathways for heating and cooling in Europe and the role of district heating in this transition. Prior to taking on this role, Emma spent 5 years working for the New Zealand Government in a variety of roles including as an economic advisor to the Associate Minister of Finance and as a senior economist for the Ministry for the Environment. She holds an MSocSc (first class) in Micro Economics from the University of Waikato.

Abstract:

The future of low carbon district energy heating and cooling.

Residential and commercial buildings account for a third of final energy consumption globally, and the majority of this is for space heating and hot water. District heating networks represent one of the options for decarbonizing the sector and could play a significant role, but not as they are currently operated. Some 85% of existing networks use coal, oil and gas. Changing to renewable fuel sources will require both digitalization and smarter demand management. Fortunately, district heating can benefit from learnings and technology adoption in adjacent sectors as it undergoes this transition.