Malta’s renewable energy at the bottom of the EU list

At just 1.4%, Malta has placed last among the 28 members of the European Union according to their shares of renewable energy in final energy consumption in 2012.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria, Estonia and Sweden have achieved their 2020 targets.

According to the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, energy from renewable sources was estimated to have contributed 14.1% of gross final energy consumption in the EU28 in 2012.

The share of renewables in gross final energy consumption is one of the headline indicators of the Europe 2020 strategy. The target to be reached by 2020 for the EU28 is a share of 20% renewable energy use in gross final energy consumption.

 In 2004, energy from renewable sources stood at 14.1% across the EU.

The national targets take into account the Member States' different starting points, renewable energy potential and economic performance.

Since 2004, the share of renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy grew in all Member States. The largest increases during this period were recorded in Sweden (from 38.7% in 2004 to 51.0% in 2012), Denmark (from 14.5% to 26.0%), Austria (from 22.7% to 32.1%), Greece (from 7.2% to 15.1%) and Italy (from 5.7% to 13.5%).

The highest shares of renewable energy in final energy consumption in 2012 were found in Sweden (51.0% of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy), Latvia (35.8%), Finland (34.3%) and Austria (32.1%).

The lowest shares were found in Malta in Malta (1.4%), Luxembourg (3.1%), the United Kingdom (4.2%) and the Netherlands (4.5%).

In 2011, Estonia was the first Member State to reach its 2020 target and in 2012 Bulgaria, Estonia and Sweden already achieved their 2020 targets (16%, 25% and 49% respectively).