EU sets national renewable energy targets for 2020
(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission set targets Wednesday for each of the 27 EU member states, obliging them to raise to a set percentage the use of renewable energies in their overall energy mix by 2020.
The targets, when combined, amount to a total EU usage of 20 percent over the next 12 years. They are part of the EU's broader strategy to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by one-fifth by 2020, compared to 1990 levels.
Renewable fuels, which currently make up 8.5 percent of EU energies, include sources like wind, wave, tidal, solar, geothermic, hydroelectric, biomass and biofuels.
Here is a list of the targets in percentages compared to efforts being made in 2005, the last year for which the most reliable data was available.
Country Renewable use 2005 Targets for 2020
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Sweden 39.8 49
Latvia 34.9 42
Finland 28.5 38
Austria 23.3 34
Portugal 20.5 31
Denmark 17.0 30
Estonia 18.0 25
Slovenia 16.0 25
Romania 17.8 24
Lithuania 15.0 23
France 10.3 23
Spain 8.7 20
Germany 5.8 18
Greece 6.9 18
Italy 5.2 17
Bulgaria 9.4 16
Ireland 3.1 16
Britain 1.3 15
Poland 7.2 15
Netherlands 2.4 14
Slovakia 6.7 14
Belgium 2.2 13
Cyprus 2.9 13
Czech Republic 6.1 13
Hungary 4.3 13
Luxembourg 0.9 11
Malta 0.0 10
EU 27 8.5 20
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