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Mapping of Legal and Regulatory Information

Introduction

👉 Click here to access the online tutorial for this module

This module provides access to policy-relevant data collected within the scope of the CoolLIFE project. The users can search for information about the current EU policy framework and national legislation, planning and strategies relevant to sustainable space cooling solutions.

The module summarizes information available in EU legislation, as well as in Member State's reporting to the European Commission about strategies, policies and regulations relevant to sustainable space cooling, complemented by targeted searches on national building regulations and financing schemes (public and private).

By now, information is included for the following EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain.

The module can be accessed on multiple scales: NUTS1 - NUTS3, LAU and Hectare levels. The user can select one or more territorial areas from the map using the selection tool. Regardless of the selected scale, the information returned corresponds to the Member State level.

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Method

The regulatory and legal aspects presented in the CoolLIFE Tool are based on the findings of Deliverable D4.1: Review and mapping of legislations and regulations on sustainable space cooling at EU and national levels. The review of the EU policy framework and national policies relevant to space cooling involved several steps.

  1. EU-Level Screening: A comprehensive review of key EU legislation relevant to space cooling was conducted, focusing on the most recent versions adopted after the Fit-for-55 package. This included:

    • the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED),
    • Renewable Energy Directive (RED),
    • Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD),
    • the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)
    • European Commission communications, such as the 2016 Heating and Cooling Strategy and the Renovation Wave strategy.

  2. National Policy Review: The analysis of Member States' policies and regulations included:

    • National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), screened using targeted keywords to identify relevant provisions on space cooling.
    • Comprehensive Assessments (CAs) for heating and cooling (2020 reporting), assessed for content related to space cooling.
    • Long-Term Renovation Strategies (LTRS), focusing on references to cooling, supported by previous literature.
    • National Adaptation Strategies (NAS) and National Adaptation Plans (NAP), reviewed through keyword-based content analysis and structured assessment of measures and best practices.

  3. In-Depth Country Analysis: Ten countries were selected for a deeper review: Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Sweden. The selection criteria included the highest cooling energy consumption and climate diversity. National building regulations were analysed to understand how space cooling and summer comfort are addressed in terms of definitions, calculation methods, and performance requirements for both new and existing buildings.

  4. Supplementary Analysis: The national policy review was complemented by literature searches and use of the MURE database on energy efficiency policies.

  5. Integration into the CoolLIFE Tool: The results from these steps were compiled and structured into the regulatory and legal aspects module of the CoolLIFE Tool, providing an overview of current frameworks and governance structures influencing sustainable space cooling across the EU and selected Member States.

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Input

The user can select an indicator of interest. The following indicators are available:

  • National background and strategy: Based on the review of the draft NECP updates.
  • Governance: Based on the review of the draft NECP updates.
  • Links with Adaptation: Links between space cooling and national adaptation plans or strategies.
  • EU planning processes: The approach and processes related to heating and cooling plans or assessments based on the review of the draft NECP updates.
  • National planning processes: The approach and processes related to heating and cooling plans or assessments based on the review of the CAs reported by Member States in 2020.
  • How space cooling is addressed in the building regulations
  • Main provisions relevant to space cooling needs or summer comfort
  • Main provisions relevant to the use of space cooling
  • EU regulations and provisions: Relevant EU regulations and provisions.
  • National implementation
  • Overview of public schemes
  • Overview of private schemes.

See Figure: Regulatory Layer - Input.

Figure: Regulatory Layer - Input

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Output

Running the CM generates a summary on background and policies in the selected country, structured according to "Indicators of Interest" (see Figure: Regulatory Layer - Output):

  • National background and strategy
  • Governance
  • Links with Adaptation
  • EU planning processes
  • National planning processes
  • How space cooling is addressed in the building regulations
  • Main provisions relevant to space cooling needs or summer comfort
  • Main provisions relevant to the use of space cooling
  • EU regulations and provisions
  • National implementation
  • Overview of public schemes
  • Overview of private schemes

Figure: Regulatory Layer - Output

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Sample Run

Step 1: Choose the appropriate 'Selectable area'

This can be done for all NUTS regions. For this module, you can select NUTS1 (in "Selectable areas" on the top right).

Step2: Navigate to the study area

Select any region in the country you are interested in.

  • Note 1: If you receive an AREA SELECTION WARNING, we recommend choosing a lower NUTS level within the same country. This warning usually occurs when the selected area is too large. Opting for smaller regions within the country should resolve the issue, as the data you access are on a national level.
  • Note 2: If you want to see the information about another country, first click again on the region previously selected (to de-select it), and then click on another region in the country you are interested in.

Step 3: Access the Calculation Module

Click on the "Calculation Module" tab. In the list of calculation modules, select "CM - Legal and Regulatory Layers"** under "Policy".

Step 4: Configure and Run the Calculation

The user selects the type of information to be displayed in the tool.

This is done in "INPUTS", by selecting the "Indicator of Interest". See above Outputs indicators and layers about the different indicators available.

Note: "Import CM inputs" appears in the panel of this CM, as for any CM. However, for this CM, it is not needed and not possible for users to import their own data.

The user runs the CM by clicking on "RUN CM" at the bottom of the CM panel.

Step 5: View and Download Results

The information about the selected indicator will appear in a new "RESULTS" window on the right. You can scroll down to see the whole information available about the selected indicator.

To see the information about another indicator, you can select this other indicator in "Indicator of Interest" and click again on "RUN CM".

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Repository of the calculation module

You can access the open-source code for this calculation module here.

How To Cite

Jean-Sébastien Broc, in CoolLIFE-Wiki, Extra: Mapping Legal And Regulatory Aspects

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Authors And Reviewers

This page was written by Jean-Sébastien Broc IEECP.

The dataset was compiled by Jean-Sébastien Broc (IEECP), and computed by Aadit Malla (TU Wien).

Data about financing schemes (public and private) has been prepared by Giulia Conforto (E-THINK) and reviewed by CoolLIFE partners.

Data about adaptation has been prepared by Indriyani Liongo (IEECP).

The other data has been collected on a country-per-country basis: * Austria: Aadit Malla (TU Wien) * Croatia: Petra Pomper (IEECP) * France: Bruno Dupessis (ARMINES / MinesParistech) and Jean-Sébastien Broc (IEECP) * Germany: Giulia Conforto (E-THINK) * Greece: Vassilis Stavrakas and Dimitris Athanasiou (IEECP) * Hungary: Adrienn Gelesz (ABUD) * Italy: Dario Bottino (EURAC) * Spain: Jean-Sébastien Broc (IEECP)

Quality Assurance was done by Jean-Sébastien Broc (IEECP).

This page was reviewed by Ardak Akhatova e-think.

License

Copyright © 2024-2025: Jean-Sébastien Broc

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 International License.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0

License-Text: https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html

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Acknowledgement

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We would like to convey our deepest appreciation to the LIFE Programme CoolLIFE Project (Grant Agreement number 101075405), which co-funded the present investigation.

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