EU countries mandated to increase green energy shares by 2030

The European Union reached a record high in the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling in 2024, according to Eurostat, with the total share climbing to 26.7 per cent during that time.

This figure represents the highest value recorded since the time series began in 2004, when the share stood at only 11.7 per cent.

In Cyprus, the renewable energy share for heating and cooling was recorded at 41.591 per cent for the 2024 period.

This represents a slight decrease for the island compared to 2023, when Cyprus reached an all-time high of 42.896 per cent.

Despite this minor dip, the long-term progress in Cyprus is significant, given that the island started with a share of just 9.264 per cent on January 1, 2004.

For the year 2022, the share in Cyprus was documented at 41.560 per cent.

Across the wider union, the 26.7 per cent share in 2024 marks an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared with the 26.2 per cent recorded in 2023.

However, this growth remained below the average annual increase of 0.75 percentage points observed between 2004 and 2024.

The steady rise in the gross final consumption of renewable energy is attributed primarily to the contribution of biomass and the growing use of heat pumps.

EU Directive 2023/2413, adopted on October 18, 2023, now mandates that every member state must push these figures even higher.

The legislation requires each country to increase its annual average share of renewables in this sector by at least 0.8 percentage points between 2021 and 2025.

A stricter requirement of at least 1.1 percentage points will be enforced for the period from 2026 to 2030.

At the collective EU level, the annual average has already seen an increase of 0.93 percentage points from 2021 to 2024.

Sweden currently holds the highest share of renewables for heating and cooling at 67.8 per cent.

Finland and Latvia followed closely with shares of 62.6 per cent and 61.8 per cent, respectively.

On the other end of the scale, Ireland recorded the lowest share in Europe at just 7.9 per cent.

The Netherlands and Belgium both reported 11.3 per cent, marking some of the lowest levels in the union.

When examining year-on-year changes, 16 EU countries registered an increase in renewable shares during 2024.

Malta saw the most substantial growth with a rise of 6.0 percentage points.

Luxembourg and Denmark also reported notable gains of 3.7 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points.

Conversely, some nations saw a significant downward trend in their renewable energy usage.

The biggest decline was registered in Estonia, where the share fell by 11.1 percentage points.

Greece and Bulgaria also saw their shares contract by 2.9 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points.