Shocked into action

European governments are significantly increasing renewable energy targets and slashing planned fossil fuel electricity generation to reduce geopolitical dependence on Russian energy. Analysis shows that EU countries' planned 2030 renewable electricity share has risen from 55% to 63%, while planned fossil fuel generation has dropped by 31%. Major importers of Russian fuels, including Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, are leading these efforts through ambitious wind and solar expansions. The report also highlights the REPowerEU framework's role in coordinating these efforts and the need for further decarbonization in the heating, industry, and transport sectors.

• EU member states have significantly reduced their planned fossil fuel electricity generation for 2030, dropping from 867 TWh in 2019 strategies to 595 TWh under current policies, representing a 31% decrease.
• The planned share of electricity from renewables in EU countries for 2030 has increased to 63%, up from 55% in 2019. The REPowerEU strategy aims to further increase this share to 69%.
• Germany, the largest EU importer of Russian fossil fuels, has raised its 2030 renewable electricity target to 80% from a previous commitment of 62%. Its specific plans include 110 GW of onshore wind, 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030, and 200 GW of solar PV by 2030.
• Several European countries have officially announced coal phase-out dates between 2020 and 2022, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia. Germany accelerated its own coal phase-out target from 2038 to 2030.
• The REPowerEU proposal aims to increase the EU's renewable energy target to 45% by 2030 (from 32%) and target a 13% reduction in energy consumption. It requires an additional investment of EUR 210 billion until 2027 but could save up to EUR 100 billion annually in fossil fuel imports by 2030.
• Decarbonization efforts are extending beyond the power sector, with the EU targeting the deployment of 10 million heat pumps over five years and doubling funding to EUR 3 billion for innovative electrification and hydrogen in industry.

APA

Czyżak, P., Uusivuori, E., Ilas, A., & Candlin, A. (2022). Shocked into action. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/EU-national-plans-slash-fossil-fuels.pdf

Chicago

Czyżak, Paweł, Erika Uusivuori, Andrei Ilas, and Alison Candlin. Shocked into action. Ember, 2022. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/EU-national-plans-slash-fossil-fuels.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Czyżak |first1=Paweł |last2=Uusivuori |first2=Erika |last3=Ilas |first3=Andrei |last4=Candlin |first4=Alison |title=Shocked into action |publisher=Ember |date=2 June 2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/EU-national-plans-slash-fossil-fuels.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{czyak2022shocked, author = {Czyżak, Paweł and Uusivuori, Erika and Ilas, Andrei and Candlin, Alison}, title = {{Shocked into action}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/EU-national-plans-slash-fossil-fuels.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }