The EU is close to reaching its target of 20 % of energy consumed coming from renewable sources by 2020, but progress at the national level is uneven. Renewable energy consumption increased from 18.9 % to 19.7 % of total energy consumption from 2018 to 2019, and 14 Member States had reached their 2020 targets by 2019. More action was necessary in several Member States to ensure that the EU remained on track to meet the 2020 target, particularly in France, Ireland and the Netherlands. Furthermore, an unprecedented transformation in the energy system will be necessary to meet the 32 % target set for 2030.
The EU is struggling to reduce its energy consumption and is at risk of not meeting its 2020 energy efficiency target. In 2019, while primary energy consumption (for all energy uses, including transformation into electricity or heat) dropped for the second consecutive year, final energy consumption (by end users) remained stable at its highest level since 2010. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to significantly reduce energy consumption in 2020. However, substantial changes in the energy system will be necessary to achieve the EU’s energy objectives and climate neutrality by 2050.
The share of energy from renewable sources consumed in transport increased between 2005 and 2018 in the EU, from under 2 % to over 8 %. Latest EEA data indicate that in 2019 this increased further, to 8.4%, indicating continuing progress towards the target set in the Renewable Energy Directive, namely that, by 2020, 10 % of all energy used in transport should be from renewable sources. However, because several countries are far from meeting this target, reaching the 10 % goal by 2020 is unlikely, at both country and EU levels.
The EU’s power generation sector is decarbonising. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of power generation is continuously falling across the EU. Supported by EU policies such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the Renewable Energy Directive and legislation addressing air pollutant emissions from industrial installations, there has been a gradual switch from coal to renewable fuels and natural gas, and the efficiency of transformation processes has improved across the sector. By 2019, the GHG emission intensity of electricity generation nearly halved compared with 1990. Were the declining trend of the past decade to continue linearly, EU electricity generation would fully decarbonise by 2050. Additional policies and measures will be needed to enhance progress, as outlined in the European Commission’s proposals to raise the EU greenhouse gas emission reductions target for 2030 from 40 % to 55 % below 1990 levels and to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
The EU is not on track to reduce the greenhouse gas emission intensity of fuels sold for road transport to 6 % below 2010 levels, as set out in its 2020 target. Between 2010 and 2018, the emission intensity decreased by 3.7 %, mostly due to the increased use of biofuels. Finland and Sweden are the only Member States whose emission intensities decreased by more than 6 %. If the indirect land use change effects of biofuel production are considered, the emission intensity of fuels sold in the EU actually increased between 2017 and 2018, because of the increased use of oil crops as feedstocks.
Large combustion plants are responsible for a significant proportion of anthropogenic pollutant emissions.
Since 2004, emissions from large combustion plants in the 28 EU Member States have decreased, by 86 % for sulphur dioxide, 59 % for nitrogen oxides and 84 % for dust.
In 2017, from a total of 3 664 large combustion plants, 50 % of all emissions came from just 68, 141 and 58 plants for sulphur dioxide , nitrogen oxides and dust, respectively. However, the performances of these largest plants have improved greatly over time.
One indicator of the environmental performance of large combustion plants is the ratio between emissions and fuel consumption (i.e. the implied emission factor). The implied emission factors for all three pollutants decreased significantly between 2004 and 2017 for all sizes of large combustion plants.
Industry is still a significant source of pollutant releases to Europe’s environment.
Releases of pollutants to air and water by European industry have generally decreased during the last decade.
Environmental regulation and improved pollutant abatement technology, among other factors, have led to decreasing pollutant releases to air and water in Europe.
Soil contamination in Europe is, among other things, linked to industrial activity.
Waste transfers from industrial facilities in the EU have remained relatively stable in the last decade.
The annual population-weighted heating degree days (HDD) decreased by 6 % between the periods 1950–1980 and 1981–2017; the decrease during the period 1981–2017 was on average 6.5 HDDs per year. The largest decrease occurred in northern Europe and possibly in Italy.
The annual population-weighted cooling degree days (CDD) increased by 33 % between the periods 1950–1980 and 1981–2017; the increase during the period 1981–2017 was on average 0.9 HDDs per year. The largest increase occurred in southern Europe.
The observed trend in HDDs and CDDs is projected to continue throughout the 21st century. The largest absolute decreases in HDDs are expected in northern and south-eastern Europe; the largest absolute increases in CDDs are expected in southern Europe.
The decrease in HDDs in Europe is projected to be much larger than the increase in CDDs in absolute terms. However, a given change in CDDs generally has larger economic impacts than the same change in HDDs, because cooling is almost exclusively produced from electricity, whereas heating is often derived from energy carriers with lower specific costs and primary energy requirements.
The projected increase in cooling demand in southern Europe may further exacerbate peaks in electricity demand in summer. This can threaten the stability of electricity networks during summer heatwaves, unless appropriate adaptation measures are taken.
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