According to the latest available data provided by Eurostat, the European Union risks falling behind on its target of improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020, as highlighted in the 2020 report on the state of the Energy Union published by the European Commission on Wednesday 14 October.
These data indicate that final energy consumption in the EU28 decreased by 5.9% between 2005 and 2018, from 1,194 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) to 1,124 Mtoe, while the target for 2020 is set at 1,086 Mtoe.
On the basis of 2018 data, the EU is therefore 3.5 percentage points behind the 2020 target.
Moreover, it is very likely that this gap will not be closed, given that the improvement was only 0.2% from 2017 to 2018.
“Making additional long-term efforts to achieve the 2030 targets set on energy efficiency is therefore of utmost importance”, stresses the Commission.
In an assessment published on 17 September, the institution further indicated that, in their current form, the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) are insufficient to achieve a 55% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, pointing in particular to shortcomings in energy efficiency (see EUROPE 12562/2).
Renewable energy
On renewable energy, on the other hand, the EU is “on track to achieve the 2020 target” (to increase the share of renewables to 20.6% in the EU27 energy mix), the report notes.
The share of renewables in gross final energy consumption rose to 18.9% for the EU27.
However, more progress still needs to be made in some Member States, the Commission warns.
While twelve Member States (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Finland, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden) exceeded their national targets for 2020 in 2018, five Member States (Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia) remained below the indicative trajectories to reach their targets.
The main renewable sources used in the energy consumption sectors are biomass for heating and cooling, hydro and wind power for electricity generation, and biofuels for transport, according to a related report published the same day.
Overall, bioenergy in general remains the main source of renewable energy in the EU, with a share of around 60% in 2018.
Finally, the Commission considers that a clear technology transfer is taking place in the electricity sector.
Between 2010 and 2018, the combined capacity of solar and wind energy in the EU increased from 110 GW to 261 GW, mainly due to the lower cost of electricity produced from these energy sources (a decrease of almost 75% and around 50% respectively between 2009 and 2018).
Report on the state of the Energy Union: https://bit.ly/375PD84
Related energy efficiency report: https://bit.ly/3nQ1XPI
Related report on renewable energy: https://bit.ly/3nTrQ11 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)