Governance Constraints in District Heating Transition: Evidence from the Danube Region
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Abstract
District heating is a key component of Europe’s pathway to climate neutrality, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe where such systems remain structurally embedded. While existing research has extensively examined technological options and investment needs, it provides limited explanation for why transition outcomes vary across countries with broadly similar conditions. This paper addresses this gap by analysing district heating transition through the lens of governance and coordination capacity. Drawing on empirical evidence from the REHEATEAST project – including a multi-country stakeholder survey, utility-level data, and system-level analysis across eight Danube Region countries – the study identifies a structural mismatch between system complexity and institutional capacity. The results show that although decarbonisation technologies are widely available and financial resources increasingly accessible, their effective deployment is constrained by fragmented policy frameworks, weak planning capacity, and insufficient coordination across stakeholders and governance levels. By introducing the system-stakeholder mismatch perspective, the paper offers a novel explanation for uneven transition outcomes and repositions governance as a central determinant of implementation. The findings have direct implications for integrated heat planning and for improving the effectiveness of public funding in the 2028–2034 programming period.
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