The EEA’s updated assessment of the EU’s progress on renewable energy and energy efficiency targets completes this year’s publication: “Trends and Projections in Europe: 2018: Tracking progress towards Europe’s climate and energy targets’ package ( Trends and projections in Europe.
19/02/2019
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The report is based on the latest approximate data and reported by the EU Member States on greenhouse gas emissions, the adoption of renewable energies and energy consumption.
The report is complemented with information sheets by countries on climate and energy . The first part of the “Trends and Projections” report , which includes an assessment of the progress towards achieving the EU’s climate objectives, was published in October.
While the EU as a whole continues to make good progress towards meeting its targets set for 2020 of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the use of renewable energy, the recent increase in energy consumption trends must be reversed to meet the objectives set for 2020.
Renewed efforts will also be necessary to meet the climate and energy objectives for 2030.
Advances in renewable energies
The adoption of renewable energies in the context of the EU’s energy mix yielded 17.4% of renewable energy in final gross energy consumption in 2017, according to preliminary data from the EEA. This indicates that the EU is still on track to reach its goal of a renewable energy share of 20% by 2020.
However, the rate of increase in the use of renewable energy only experienced a minimum increase from 17% registered in 2016. Progress has been insufficient to reach the 10% target of renewable energy in the transport sector by 2020.
Looking ahead to 2020, the trajectories necessary to achieve national objectives are becoming more complicated. The increase in energy consumption and the barriers that still exist in the market are hindering the use of renewable energies in several Member States.
The EEA’s preliminary data for 2017 shows that 20 Member States were well on track to achieve their individual renewable energy targets by 2020, which is a decrease from 2016, when 25 countries were in the region. the good way.
In many countries, the slowdown is due to the increase in total energy consumption, which causes the proportion of renewable energies in energy consumption to be lower.
The increase in consumption hinders energy efficiency
In general terms, energy consumption fell at a pace that could guarantee the achievement of EU objectives for 2020 in terms of energy efficiency.
However, in 2015 energy consumption in the EU began to increase, and preliminary estimates of the EEA for 2017 indicate that both primary energy consumption and final energy consumption are currently above the indicative trajectory by 2020 .
In 2016 in particular, the growing energy demands in the transport sector reached 33% of the final energy consumption in the EU. The continuous growth of energy consumption, especially in the transport sector, but also in others, means that achieving the goal set for 2020 is increasingly uncertain.
The preliminary EEA data for 2017 show that 13 Member States are expected to have increased their primary energy consumption to levels above the trajectories corresponding to their 2020 targets. This is an increase of three countries since 2016.
The Member States should intensify their efforts to put the EU back on track and reverse the upward trend in energy consumption, especially in the transport sector.
Need to strengthen measures to meet the targets set for 2030
New targets for 2030 have been set at EU level in the field of greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy and energy efficiency, with a view to:
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions nationally by at least 40% (compared to 1990 levels);
Increase the proportion of renewable energy sources to at least 32% of final gross energy consumption; Y
Achieve at least a 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency (compared to the 2007 baseline scenario).
The EEA Trends and Projections report indicates that current trends will not be adequate to meet the 2030 targets, and additional and improved efforts will be necessary in the next decade.
To this end, Member States will present their first draft of national energy and climate plans by the end of 2018, which will include details on climate and energy policies and objectives that will help them achieve the 2030 targets.
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