Efficiency lags behind in EU's triple energy target

9 October the European Environment Agency (EEA) released a report which provides an overview of progress on the EU’s energy objectives for the year 2020.

These targets, also called the '20/20/20 targets', include a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% rise in the share of renewable resources to Europe’s energy needs, and 20% more efficiency in energy use across the EU.

The first objective is likely to be met as the EU reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 18% between 1990 and 2012. "The EU is very close to reaching [this target], eight years ahead of 2020,” and could even exceed its target by four percentage points, the report says. The fifteen EU member states that joined before 2004 (the so-called EU15) are doing even better, and are overachieving on their Kyoto Protocol targets by 5.5% on average, the report notes.

The second target, on renewable energy, is also on track. Renewables contributed 13% of the EU’s energy consumption in 2011, with their share expected to rise to 20% in 2020, just enough to reach the objective.

But hitting the third target on energy efficiency remains a great challenge, the report says, urging EU countries to take swift action to redress the situation.

Read the entire article on EurActive.com.