The Greens/EFA Heatwave Action Plan

Heatwave busting bill: Make Top 5 Fossil companies pay for cost of cooling down.
Because of the aggregated climate crisis created by fossil fuel companies your kid's school has to close, you can't go to work because your baby's daycare is closed, workers are dying from heatstroke, hospital surgeries are at 35°C for over a week. The five biggest fossil fuel companies must foot the bill to make sure all public buildings in the EU are heatwave proof, human-friendly, cool spaces.

To make Europe heatwave-proof, we need 70 billion euros per year - this number comes from the European Commission. Total Energie, BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and Shell together, have a total revenue of 1 trillion euros a year. That is only 7% of these fossil giants’ yearly revenues. We can beat the heat in public spaces in the whole EU. It's their responsibility to right their wrongs. They owe us. 7% is a light levy on fossil industry profits to climate proof all public buildings in Europe.

It doesn´t need to be this way - Turning concrete ovens into cool cities

• Make schools, hospitals, care homes and public transport cool: Children, patients, nurses and doctors in hospitals, people living in care homes, bus drivers and everyone using public transport are most exposed to heatwaves. The EU should support Member States and local governments to finance cooling measures, green roofing, trees in common spaces, shading, improved ventilation and air conditioning. 

• Protect workers from heat: Outdoor workers (in construction, roadworks, agriculture, and logistics) are facing the greatest heat exposure with the least protection. Europe must set a benchmark level to protect all workers in Europe. High temperatures must trigger employers to act, with mandatory rest breaks, access to shade and drinking water, and adjusted working hours during peak heat. We call on the Commission to urgently present binding recommendations.

• Make our homes cool, make cool homes affordable: Cool homes cannot be a matter of luxury - it must be easy for everyone to get temperatures down. Public support must first reach low-income households and people living in poorly insulated homes as well as those who cannot afford to protect themselves from extreme heat. The European Commission must prioritize measures to make homes cooler and lower energy bills: Heat-resilient design, district heating and cooling, heat pumps and social leasing of heat pumps, improved ventilation and air conditioning can be supportive measures for people struggling in heatwaves.

• Make our cities cool: Concrete, lack of shelter from the sun and poor water supply turn our cities into ovens, making people suffer. Drinking water and spray mist dispensers, cooling down zones, parks and gardens and greening facades and green roofs make our cities liveable places again, protecting people from the heat and cooling down the cities by around 4 degrees. European cities above 45,000 inhabitants are already legally required to prepare local heating and cooling plans. Governments must get on speed to make the plans a reality. 

• Make the sun power energy demand: Heatwaves drastically increase the energy demand. At the same time the sun heats up roofs and the buildings underneath. Rooftop solar can turn that into an advantage, by generating clean power exactly when the demand peaks, while also cooling the roof surface underneath. Public spaces should therefore install rooftop solar wherever possible and use the energy to create cool refuge places.

• Protect and restore our natural allies: Forests, peatlands, rivers, and other natural habitats must be better protected, restored, expanded where possible to help cool us down. Investing in green roofs, urban forests, planting trees and freeing waterways in the city can also lower down temperatures by 2°C to 17°C, and offer much needed zones of freshness to citizens. 

• Fund Climate adaptation: The Commission and Member States must deliver an EU budget fit to meet the heatwave crisis now with investments financed through National and Regional Partnership plans. The upcoming Climate Resilience Framework must made legally binding to all Member States adopt and implement climate adaptation plans to be prepared for the next heatwaves to come.

• Open the EP and public buildings against the heat: We call for the EP, Commission, Council and other EU institutions plus public buildings such as town halls, libraries and museums to open their premises to people in need such as workers looking for cool spaces and homeless people. The EP should lead by example and open its doors for giving shelter to people suffering from deadly temperatures. 

• Special EUCO: We urge EU leaders to convene a special EUCO to urgently discuss Europe's response to extreme heat and agree on concrete measures to protect people during heatwaves. 

(The Greens/EFA pushed through to discuss how to counter heatwaves in next Wednesday´s (8 July 2026) plenary debate in the European Parliament)