European Union & Renewable Energy

• For more than twenty years, the European Union (EU) has been at the forefront of the move towards renewable energy. By implementing strong policy measures, it has managed to ensure a steady growth in renewable energy consumption in the region ranging from 9% share in 2005 to 16.7% share in 2015. The EU is certainly in the right path of achieving the target set for 2020: reaching 20% of renewable energy in the total energy consumption in the EU.
• Further, in 2014 the European Council has agreed on a new target: reaching a minimum of 27% of renewable energy in the total energy consumption in the EU for the period up to 2030.
• The European Union has also ratified the Paris Agreement, which established the goal to limit the rise in global to “well below 2°C” in comparison to pre-industrial levels. In practice, this entails reducing global carbon emissions from energy use to zero by 2060 and maintaining that level until the end of the century.