In 2022, the share of renewable energy for heating and cooling in the EU rose to 24.8%, an increase of 1.8 pp compared to 2021 (23%), Eurostat reported on Tuesday 27 February.
Sweden and Estonia are leading the way with shares of 69.3% and 65.4% respectively, relying on biomass and heat pumps. They are followed by Latvia with 61.0%. Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium have the lowest shares, at 6.3, 8.6 and 10.4% respectively.
The biggest increases relative to 2021 were recorded in Malta (+5.2 pp), Luxembourg (+2.5 pp) and Ireland (+1.4 pp), while Austria (-2.4 pp), Slovenia (-1.2 pp) and Cyprus (-1.0 pp) recorded falls.
In the space of 10 years, the average proportion of energy produced from renewable sources for heating and cooling has risen from 18.6% to 24.8% (+6.2 pp).
However, Eurostat believes that a major effort is needed to achieve the objectives of the revised Renewable Energy Directive (see EUROPE 13296/32). This directive requires Member States to increase their average annual share of renewable energy for heating and cooling by at least 0.8 pp between 2021 and 2025 and by at least 1.1 pp between 2026 and 2030.
To see the Eurostat publication: https://aeur.eu/f/b1s (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)