IEA EBC Annex 97, Sustainable Cooling in Cities, held a policy seminar in Madrid on 22 April 2026, titled “Policy in Practice: The Spanish Urban Perspective on Sustainable Cooling.” The event brought together international Annex experts, Spanish policymakers, city representatives, and practitioners to discuss how urban heat mitigation and building cooling strategies can be better connected in practice.

The seminar highlighted that sustainable cooling is not only an energy issue, but also a public health, urban planning, social equity, and climate resilience challenge. Presentations showed how cities can move beyond isolated technical solutions by linking building decarbonisation, local heating and cooling planning, public space design, climate adaptation, and building regulation.
Key takeaways included the need for stronger local implementation of European climate and energy policies, better data and governance frameworks for city-level planning, and greater attention to passive and nature-based cooling strategies. Examples from Madrid city and Metropolitan area of Barcelona demonstrated how urban greening, public-private cooperation, rainwater management, shading, reflective and permeable materials, and public space redesign can reduce heat exposure while supporting healthier and more liveable cities.
The seminar also underlined the importance of updating regulations and assessment methods to better address future climate conditions, overheating risk, adaptive comfort, and passive resilience. Architectural case studies further illustrated how buildings can act as active contributors to urban cooling through integrated design, renewable energy, water recovery, vegetation, and low-carbon material strategies.