Malta two points short of its 2020 renewable energy target

Malta is two points short of reaching its 2020 renewable energy target, figures released today by Eurostat show.

The increase in the share of renewables is essential to reach the EU climate and energy goals. The EU's target is to reach 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 and at least 32% by 2030.

In 2018, the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption reached 18.0% in the European Union, up from 17.5% in 2017 and more than double the share in 2004, which was 8.5%.

Malta’s 2020 target is 10% and by 2018 the island's share was 8%, just two points shy. Malta is on par with countries such as Germany and Luxembourg who are also two points shy of their 2020 targets. Similarly, Romania is only one point away from its 2020 target and Hungary, Austria and Portugal are less than one point away.  

Sweden's share of energy from renewables stood at 55%, by far the highest across the EU, surpassing its target of 49% by 2018. 

The Netherlands and France are the furthest away from their goals – with 6.6 and 6.4 points to go respectively.