The latest data released by Eurostat shows the European Union produced 17.5 per cent of its power needs from renewable sources in 2017, while 11 of the bloc’s 28 members had already achieved a 2020 goal of 20 per cent or more.
Eurostat said renewable energy, such as wind, solar and hydro power, accounted for 17 per cent of the energy mix in the EU in 2016 and 8.5 per cent in 2004, the first year for which figures were available.
Reuters Newsagency reports the 2020 target is a stepping-stone to the goal of 32 per cent in 2030.
Luxembourg had the lowest proportion, with renewable energy accounting for just 6.4 per cent of energy use.
The report said Sweden had the highest share of renewable energy consumption, with more than half its energy coming from renewable sources in 2017.
“The EU is on track to meet its 2020 renewable target, with 11 member states already above their national targets,” said Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, who has called for the bloc to aim for net zero emissions.
The Netherlands, France, Ireland, Britain, Poland and Belgium were among EU nations still a few percentage points off their 2020 objective, as of 2017.
European Environment Agency said last year the bloc’s shift towards renewable energy was slowing, putting its ability to meet its 2020 and 2030 targets at risk.
The targets are part of the bloc’s overall drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030 in line with the United Nations sponsored Paris Agreement to keep global warming well below two degrees Celsius.
