EEA’s report said that renewable energy is serving as major contributor to the energy transition taking place in many parts of Europe.
According to the report, the share of renewable energy use increased from 15% in 2013 to 16% in 2014 across the EU region.
Eurostat’s recent data showed that the usage of renewable energy reached 16.7% in 2015, which is close to EEA’s 16.4% preliminary estimate published in December 2016.
The share of renewable energy use across member state level is ranging from over 30% in Finland, Latvia and Sweden to 5% or less in Luxembourg and Malta.
Coal is said to be the most substituted fuel across Europe, constituting to one half of all avoided fossil fuels. It is followed by natural gas with 28% of all avoided fossil.
Germany, Italy and the UK have reported reductions in fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions due to the uptake of more renewable energy sources in 2014 and 2015.
The EU, which increased renewable electricity capacity between 2005 and 2015, is only lying behind China in installed and grid-connected domestic renewable electricity capacity.
The report said that the EU and its member states need to focus on their climate and energy efforts to meet the ambitions of a sustainable and low-carbon economy by 2050.
To achieve this, the EU has to focus on formulating adequate policies that deliver targets, agreeing to put in place a region-wide monitoring system and improve innovation capabilities for full benefits of the energy transition.
Image: The share of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources are increasing across in energy consumption across the EU. Photo: courtesy of EEA.
