Switching to renewables relieves pressure on the environment

According to the EEA, the increased use of photovoltaics, wind and biomass in electricity production in the EU led to a significant reduction in climate-damaging greenhouse gases between 2005 and 2018. That is not the only advantage of switching from fossil to renewable energy sources: The growth in renewables since 2005 has also reduced the pressure on the environment in several ways, for example with regard to the formation of fine dust or eutrophication and acidification of water.

According to the EEA, the EU-wide share of renewable energies in the total electricity mix in 2019 was less than half a percentage point below the binding target of 20 percent in 2020. Accordingly, coal no longer provides the majority of electricity in the European Union. Nevertheless, more electricity is still produced with the help of fossil fuels than with renewable sources. The energy sector is responsible for almost a quarter of all EU greenhouse gases and remains an important source of acidification, eutrophication and the formation of ground-level ozone.

The EU must free its electricity sector from oil, gas and coal faster if it wants to achieve its climate goals, wrote the EEA. Should the EU countries fully implement their climate and energy plans for 2030, the current EU targets for the year for climate and renewables could be exceeded. In order to achieve climate neutrality in 2050, however, renewable energy would have to be expanded significantly more to a share of over 80 percent.