Luxembourg – New figures from Eurostat have revealed that energy consumption in the EU was 2.5% less in 2015 than in 1990 – the base rate year for the EU’s 20/20/20 targets – and 11.6% below its peak in 2006. This represents a reduction from 1,667 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 1990 to 1,626 Mtoe in 2015.
Other figures reveal that less than half of energy consumption now comes from fossil fuels in Sweden, Finland and France, whilst the figure remains more than 90% in Cyprus, the Netherlands, Ireland and Poland. As a whole, the share of fossil fuels in energy consumption fell from 83% to 73% of the period 1990-2015.
Whilst overall the share of fossil fuels in energy consumption has reduced between 1990 and 2015, fossil fuel import dependency has increased. In 1990, the EU imported 53% of its fossil fuel consumption, compared to 73% in 2015.
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