page_title: Renewable energy in the European Union
section_title: Policy
hierarchical_section_title: Renewable energy in the European Union / Policy
caption_attribution_description: English: The trends of various sources used for gross electricity production in Europe between 1990 and 2013. Measured in GWh.
context_page_description: Renewable energy plays an important and growing role in the energy system of the European Union. The share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy was 18% in 2018. This is double the share in 2004 with 8.5%.
  The Europe 2020 strategy includes a target of reaching 20% of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, and at least 32% by 2030.
  These figures are based on energy use in all its forms across all three main sectors, the heating and cooling sector, the electricity sector and the transport sector.
  The share of renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy has grown in all member states since 2004. The leading state was Sweden with over half of its energy provided by renewable sources in 2018 in terms of gross final energy consumption, followed by Finland, Latvia, Denmark and Austria.
  The lowest proportion of renewables in 2018 was recorded in the Netherlands, Malta, Luxembourg and Belgium.
  The renewable energy directive enacted in 2009 lays out a framework for individual member states to share the overall EU-wide 20% renewable energy target for 2020.
context_section_description: The Maastricht Treaty signed in 1992 set an objective of promoting stable growth while protecting the environment. The Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 added the principle of sustainable development to the objectives of the EU. Since 1997, the EU has been working towards a renewable energy supply equivalent to 12% of the total EU's energy consumption by 2010.
  The Johannesburg Summit in 2002 failed to introduce the radical changes targeted for ten years after the Rio Summit. No specific goals were set for the energy sector, which disappointed many countries. While the EU had proposed an annual increase in the use of renewable energy at a rate of 1.5% worldwide until 2010, Johannesburg's action plan did not recommend such a "substantial" increase, with no concrete goals nor dates being set. The EU was unwilling to accept this result and with other nations formed a group of "pioneer countries" that promised to establish ambitious national or even regional goals to achieve global targets. The Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC) has a total of more than 80 member countries; the EU members, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand amongst them.
  In the European Conference for Renewable Energy in Berlin in 2004, the EU defined ambitious goals of its own. The conclusion was that by 2020, the EU would seek to obtain 20% of its total energy consumption requirements with renewable energy sources.  Up until that point, the EU had only set targets up to 2010, and this proposal was the first to represent the EU's commitment up to 2020.
caption: The trends of various sources used for gross electricity production in Europe between 1990 and 2013. Measured in GWh.
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