EU Reaches Provisional Agreement To Reduce Energy Usage In 2030

The final energy consumption at the EU level would be reduced by 11.7% in 2030 compared to the forecasted consumption, according to a provisional political agreement agreed on Friday between the European Parliament and the Council presidency.

The flexibility in achieving the goal will benefit EU member states, according to a statement from the EU Council.

According to the provisional agreement, the EU as a whole must experience a reduction in final energy consumption of at least 11.7% in 2030 as compared to 2020 energy consumption projections for 2030.

As a result, the EU's primary energy consumption would be 993 million tonnes of oil equivalent, with a maximum of 763 million tonnes of oil equivalent.

“The consumption limit for final consumption will be binding for member states collectively, whereas the primary energy consumption target will be indicative,” the Council said.

By adopting indicative national objectives, which are anticipated to be updated and announced this year and next, all EU member states will contribute to the efforts to reduce energy use.

For the agreement negotiated on Friday to take effect, it must first be approved by the committees of the European Parliament and Council and legally accepted.

The EU wants to lower its energy consumption and hasten the adoption of renewable energy sources in order to minimise reliance on fossil fuels as part of its goal to become a net-zero bloc by 2050.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced Europe to halt seaborne imports of Russian oil and seek to stop imports of Russian gas, reducing reliance on imports of fossil fuels became extremely crucial for the EU.

According to Eurostat figures released this month, the EU was able to surpass its goal of reducing its petrol use this winter.

The data showed that the EU has already reduced its winter demand by 19.3% in comparison to the five-year average, exceeding the 15% target it had set for itself to enable it to survive the winter.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported last week that the predicted 13% reduction in natural gas consumption in OECD Europe in 2022 will be the highest decline in absolute terms ever.