Renewable energy made up 26.7% of heating and cooling in the EU in 2024, up from 26.2% in 2023 and the highest level recorded since the series began in 2004.
The increase of 0.5 percentage points in 2024 was below the average annual rise of 0.75 percentage points recorded between 2004 and 2024, Eurostat revealed on Monday.
Gross final consumption of renewable energy used for heating and cooling has risen over time in absolute terms, driven mainly by biomass and heat pumps.
An EU law adopted in October 2023 requires each member state to raise the annual average share of renewables in heating and cooling by at least 0.8 percentage points from 2021 to 2025, and by at least 1.1 percentage points from 2026 to 2030.
At EU level, the annual average increase was 0.93 percentage points from 2021 to 2024.
Wide differences between EU countries
Sweden recorded the highest share of renewables in heating and cooling in 2024 at 67.8%, followed by Finland at 62.6% and Latvia at 61.8%.
Ireland had the lowest share at 7.9%, while the Netherlands and Belgium were both at 11.3%.
Compared with 2023, 16 EU countries increased their shares in 2024, with the biggest rises in Malta (up 6.0 percentage points), Luxembourg (up 3.7) and Denmark (up 1.9).
The largest declines were recorded in Estonia (down 11.1 percentage points), Greece (down 2.9) and Bulgaria (down 1.9).
