Energy efficiency targets

Ambitious energy efficiency targets are key to driving Europe’s energy transition. By using energy more efficiently, and thereby consuming less, Europeans can lower their energy bills, help protect the environment, mitigate climate change, improve their quality of life, reduce the EU's reliance on external suppliers of oil and gas and support the sustainable growth of the EU economy. To unlock these benefits, energy efficiency needs to be improved across the entire energy supply chain, from production to final consumption.

EU energy efficiency measures focus on policy areas with the greatest potential for energy savings and where a harmonised approach across EU countries is needed. This includes industry, the public sector, the construction and renovation of buildings, the transport and energy supply sectors  and the introduction of a uniform energy labelling system.

On 25 July 2023, the EU officially concluded the legislative process to strengthen the Energy Efficiency Directive. The updated legislation, including the new binding target, entered into force in all EU countries on 10 October 2023.

This target sets the goal of reducing EU final energy consumption by 11.7% by 2030, compared to the projected energy use for 2030 (based on the 2020 reference scenario). It translates into a primary energy consumption target of 992.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) and a final energy consumption target of 763 Mtoe by 2030.

Compared to the previous targets (1128 Mtoe for primary energy and 846 Mtoe for final energy), the increased targets aim to reduce Europe’s 2030 energy use by roughly the equivalent of Spain’s current annual energy consumption.

Key figures by 2030

This new target highlights the EU’s increased ambition on energy efficiency, surpassing the 9% target proposed by the Commission in July 2021, as part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package and going even further beyond the existing 2030 target set in 2018.

Under the revised directive, and as part of their energy efficiency obligation schemes, EU countries will be required to achieve an average annual energy savings rate of 1.49% from 2024 to 2030, up from the 2021-2023 requirement of 0.8%, driving energy savings in critical sectors like buildings, industry, and transport.

In addition, to underline the exemplary role to be played by the public sector, there is a new annual energy consumption reduction target of 1.9% for the public sector as a whole and the annual 3% buildings renovation obligation is being extended to all levels of public administration.

In July 2021, as part of the European Green Deal package, the Commission introduced a proposal to revamp the Energy Efficiency Directive, supporting the EU's objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. It put forward a stronger and binding EU energy efficiency target of 9% for 2030, compared to the projections of the 2020 Reference Scenario (787 Mtoe in final and 1 023 Mtoe in primary energy consumption, respectively). This proposal corresponded to a reduction of 36% in final energy consumption and 39% in primary energy consumption by 2030, compared to the 2007 Reference Scenario.

In the context of the REPowerEU plan, energy efficiency was indicated as one of the most effective and sustainable ways for the EU to discontinue its reliance on Russian fossil fuel imports. Therefore, in May 2022, the Commission proposed further increasing the binding EU energy efficiency targets from 9% to 13% compared to the 2020 Reference Scenario (750 Mtoe in final and 980 Mtoe in primary energy consumption, respectively).

This paved the way for the final target of 11.7% agreed by the co-legislators, which entered into force on 10 October 2023. 

In 2007, the EU leaders set 3 key targets for 2020

• 20% cut in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels)
• 20% of EU energy from renewables
• 20% improvement in energy efficiency

Between 2007 and 2014, there was a gradual decrease in energy consumption. However, between 2014 and 2017, we saw an increase that could partly be attributed to good economic performance, with low oil prices and colder winters. In 2018, this growing trend stabilised and primary energy consumption even declined compared to 2017.

The COVID-19 crisis significantly affected the EU economy and led to a decrease in energy consumption in 2020. The Eurostat data for 2020 reveals that primary energy consumption in the EU dropped to 1,236 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), while final energy consumption decreased to 907 Mtoe. These figures represented a 5.8% and 5.4% decline, respectively, below the EU 2020 target level.

EU achievement of the 2020 target

The Commission published a report on the achievement of the 2020 energy efficiency targets in November 2022. The analysis combines the information provided by EU countries in their reports with reliable data from Eurostat.  

Additionally, it analyses the assessment of the national long-term renovation strategies and the cost-optimal reports submitted by EU countries to the Commission. Largely due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, both primary and final energy consumption targets were overachieved in 2020. This  highlights the EU countries’ commitment  to prioritising energy efficiency and working towards a greener future.

The table below indicates the absolute level of energy consumption in 2020 - as notified by EU countries in 2013, in their national energy efficiency annual plans 2014 and 2017, or in annual reports up to 2020.

Assessments of the progress made by EU countries towards the national energy efficiency targets for 2020 and towards the implementation of the directive are listed below for the years 2015 – 2019.

• News: New Energy Efficiency Directive published (20/09/2023)
• News: Energy Efficiency Directive adopted, helping make the EU ‘Fit for 55’ (25/07/2023)
• Energy Efficiency Directive
• National energy and climate plans (NECPs)
• Energy Efficiency Directive (EU/2023/1791)