No, Europe has not banned its gas boiler. The latest energy efficiency directive adopted by the European Council has set off alarm bells when the hoax spread that the new regulatory framework would prohibit heating based on fossil fuels in just two years.
In Spain, the Government has not included gas boilers in the calls for the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Furthermore, sources from the sector indicate that, gradually, The Autonomous Communities have been stopping granting aid for the renewal of coal or gas heating with other devices that, although newer, are also based on fossil combustion.
The Community of Madrid, however, continues to allocate significant amounts to the replacement of boilers older, inefficient and polluting, an initiative that seeks to cut emissions and reduce home heating bills. In part, the fact that autonomy continues to be a loose verse in this trend is explained by the urgency of removing the old coal heating systems, much more polluting, that still persist in the territory, even in the central area of the capital.
In October 2022, the regional government of Isabel Diaz Ayuso committed almost 5.2 million euros to a Renove Plan to rejuvenate the regional boiler park, with the scope to change more than 15,000 boilers in the region. In just two months, the Community received more than 8,000 applications and allocated more than half of the total budgeted.
Last June, the regional Executive launched a new call for 5.5 million euros and scope to replace 16,000 devices. In this latest initiative, the Community of Madrid raised the maximum aid to be received to 500 euros per household, compared to 350 euros in the previous plan. By European mandate, as of January 1, 2026, these subsidies will be prohibited.