The share of fossil fuels in vitality consumption within the European Union in 2022 stood at 70.9 %, the European Fee has reported.
Whereas that represented a rise from 69.9 % the prior yr, the uptick was “distinctive from an vitality perspective”, it famous.
“Being the primary full calendar yr after main restrictions associated to COVID-19 had been lifted, it was additionally marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, and value spikes of varied vitality commodities”, the Fee stated, in a report Tuesday utilizing figures from the EU statistics company Eurostat.
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It additionally cited a 16.7-percent year-on-year lower in nuclear energy manufacturing in 2022. The 609,255 gigawatt hours from nuclear vitality in 2022 was the bottom share for nuclear since 1990, the primary yr for which comparable knowledge throughout the area was out there, the Fee earlier reported January 2024.
“Even when renewable vitality sources have elevated, this was not sufficient to compensate for the lower in nuclear vitality”, it stated in Tuesday’s report. Renewables comprised 23 % of EU vitality consumption in 2022, up from 21.9 % 2021, in keeping with a separate Fee bulletin replace.
From 1990 to 2021, fossil gasoline reliance within the 27-member bloc fell by about 11.5 proportion factors (pp) yearly, primarily on account of renewable vitality progress, the Fee stated in Tuesday’s report.
In 2022, Malta remained the EU nation with the biggest share of fossil fuels in nationwide whole vitality demand at 96.1 %, adopted by Cyprus at 89.3 % and the Netherlands at 87.6 %. Sweden and Finland had been the one EU states that had shares beneath 50 % at 30.4 % and 38.3 % respectively. “A lot of the different EU international locations had shares between 50 % and 85 %”, the Fee stated.
“In contrast with 2021, in 2022, the biggest, but fairly small, decreases within the share of fossil fuels in gross out there vitality had been in Latvia (-3.7 pp), Slovakia (-2.1 pp), and Hungary (-1.9 pp)”, it wrote. “The most important will increase had been in Estonia (+4.2 pp), France (+2.9 pp), and Bulgaria (2.8 pp)”.
The EU’s whole vitality consumption in 2022 was 902.3 million tons of oil equal (MMtoe). Oil and petroleum merchandise accounted for the most important share at 331.7 MMtoe, adopted by electrical energy at 207.3 MMtoe and pure gasoline at 185 MMtoe, in keeping with Eurostat figures.
The transport sector consumed 279.6 MMtoe. The family sector consumed 242.4 MMtoe, whereas the trade sector consumed 226.4 MMtoe, based mostly on the figures obtained from the Eurostat web site.
The European Council in October 2023 adopted a binding goal for the share of renewables within the regional vitality combine to be 42.5 % by 2030, up from 32 %, along with an aspirational goal of two.5 %.
Within the close to time period, “Member States shall set an indicative goal for progressive renewable vitality expertise of a minimum of 5 % of newly put in renewable vitality capability by 2030”, the directive says.
For the trade sector, “Member States shall endeavor to extend the share of renewable sources within the quantity of vitality sources used for ultimate vitality and non-energy functions within the trade sector by an indicative improve of a minimum of 1.6 proportion factors as an annual common calculated for the durations 2021 to 2025 and 2026 to 2030”, the directive states.
The directive additionally units an indicative purpose of a 49 % renewables share in vitality use by buildings by 2030.
A Council assertion on the time stated, “The aim of the sub-targets is to hurry up the combination of renewables in sectors the place incorporation has been slower”.
To contact the creator, e mail jov.onsat@rigzone.com
