The European Commission urged for a new emphasis on renewable energy. According to a recent report, Belgium lags in the European renewable energy rankings as part of its energy mix.
The Commission stressed the need for a "new emphasis" to achieve its global target of 42.5% renewable energy in the mix by 2030.
The report highlighted the considerably varying usage of renewable energy across member states. Sweden (66% in 2022), Finland (47.9%), Latvia (43.3%) and Denmark (41.6%) have the highest usage rates.
In contrast, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta have the least developed renewable energy sectors (less than 14% of the mix).
In 2022, three Member States had percentages of renewable energy usage still below their binding 2020 targets.
These included France (2.7 percentage points less than the 2020 target), Ireland (2 pp) and Austria (0.2 pp). Consequently, these countries are required to take additional measures within a year to make up for the difference in the following year.
Moreover, several member states did not meet their 2022 benchmark, including Belgium, which fell short by 1.2 percentage points. These member states will need to outline how they plan to address this shortfall.
Lastly, the European Commission called on the 17 governments, including Belgium, who have yet to submit their final Energy-Climate plans, to do so as soon as possible. The Commission underscored that this is a "key step" towards the European Union achieving its 2030 emissions reduction target.
