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European Union 2020
…the European Green Deal in the coming years. The report also outlines opportunities for boosting shortand long-term actions for a resilient, sustainable and just recovery of the European economy. Executive summary Over the past five years, the European Union (EU) has made significant progress in completing the internal market for electricity and gas, promoting energy efficiency action, renewable energy deployment, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions and a stronger carbon price signal. In 2019, the EU proposed the European Green Deal (EGD), a set of 50 actions for the coming five years across all sectors to prepare the EU economy…
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Is the European Union on track to meet its REPowerEU goals?
…projects; and support alternative business models for heating. Should government and industry overcome deployment challenges in the electricity, transport and heating and cooling sectors, REPowerEU goals appear to be within reach, at least in terms of renewable energy. *The REPowerEU plan targets a 45% renewable energy share across the European Union as well as numerous other objectives and spending commitments. The European Commission modelled the programme package to determine renewable energy shares likely necessary in electricity, transport and heating (see Implementing the REPowerEU Action Plan, p. 23). While the benchmarks for electricity and transport are based on these modelled outcomes…
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Coping with the Crisis: Increasing Resilience in Small Businesses in Europe through Energy Efficiency
…and secure – both in the short and in the long term.In this document, the sections on setting the scene, what the European Union can do, and what national governments can do were prepared by the European Commission. The section on what small businesses can do was prepared by the International Energy Agency. Setting the scene Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Europe's economy and add value in every sector. They represent 99% of all businesses in the EU, employ over 80 million people and account for more than half of Europe’s gross domestic…
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A 10-Point Plan to Reduce the European Union’s Reliance on Russian Natural Gas
…bring down gas imports from Russia by over one-third, with additional temporary options to deepen these cuts to well over half while still lowering emissions.Europe’s reliance on imported natural gas from Russia has again been thrown into sharp relief by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. In 2021, the European Union imported an average of over 380 million cubic metres (mcm) per day of gas by pipeline from Russia, or around 140 billion cubic metres (bcm) for the year as a whole. As well as that, around 15 bcm was delivered in the form of liquefied natural…
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Northwest European Hydrogen Monitor 2025
…Northwest Europe could gradually scale up in the short- to medium-term. Northwest European countries now have ambition to develop up to 30 to 35 gigawatts (GW) of electrolyser capacity by 2030. However, most low-emissions hydrogen projects are currently in the early stages of development. Their success will depend largely on supportive policies and regulatory frameworks. The cost-efficient development of low-emissions hydrogen markets also necessitates a regional approach that maximises existing synergies among national markets. This is the third edition of the Northwest European Hydrogen Monitor. It provides an annual update of low-emissions hydrogen market developments in…
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Northwest European Hydrogen Monitor 2024
…in the short- to medium-term. Northwest European countries now have the ambition to develop up to 30 to 40 gigawatts (GW) of electrolyser capacity by 2030. However, most low-emissions hydrogen projects are currently in the early stages of development. Their success will depend to a large extent on supporting policies and regulatory frameworks, with continuous monitoring of progress. The cost-efficient development of low-emissions hydrogen markets will also necessitate a regional approach that maximises existing synergies among national markets. This is the second edition of the Northwest European Hydrogen Monitor. It provides an annual update of low…
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How to Avoid Gas Shortages in the European Union in 2023
A practical set of actions to close a potential supply-demand gap European and global natural gas markets are not yet out of the danger created by Russia’s cuts to pipeline deliveries of gas. If gas exports from Russia drop to zero and China’s LNG imports rebound to 2021 levels, there is a risk of a shortfall gas supplies in 2023. Measures already taken by EU governments on energy efficiency, renewables and heat pumps should help reduce the size of this potential natural gas supply-demand gap in 2023. A recovery in nuclear and hydropower output from their…
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Northwest European Hydrogen Monitor 2022
Northwest European Hydrogen Monitor Northwest Europe is at the forefront of renewable and low-emission hydrogen development. This region accounts for around half of Europe’s total hydrogen demand, and has a vast and untapped renewable energy potential in the North Sea. It also has a well-developed, interconnected gas network which could be partially repurposed to facilitate the transmission and distribution of renewable and low-emission hydrogen from production sites to demand centres.The development of renewable and low-emission hydrogen in Northwest Europe is expected to gradually scale up in the short- to medium-term to reach a…
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IEA Support to Accelerating Renewable Energy Permitting (ARPE)
…the European Commission released the REPowerEU aimed at rapidly accelerating the clean energy transition in the European Union. The plan includes increasing the 2030 target for renewable energy in the overall energy mix to 42.5% (with the ambition of 45%) – up from 40% in the 2021 proposal. Achieving this will require more than 1 200 gigawatts (GW) of installed cumulative renewable power capacity by 2030, almost double that of 2023.The key barrier to rapid renewables deployment in many EU Member states is lengthy and complex administrative procedures related to project permitting. In May 2022, the European Commission released recommendations on…
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Background note on the natural gas supply-demand balance of the European Union in 2023
…discussions at the Special IEA Ministerial on Gas Markets and Supply Security on 15 February 2023. It assesses the latest developments in European and global natural gas markets, taking into account the impacts of the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The analysis examines the key factors affecting the natural gas supply-demand balance of the European Union – and the risks that could lead to a supply-demand gap emerging. And it highlights the measures that can reduce natural gas demand in a structural manner to mitigate the European Union’s exposure to such risks.