Energy Profile - Europe (EU)

European Union (EU)

(Pop.: 450 mi; GDP: US$ 19.5 tri; PPP GDP: US$ 28.16 tri; debt: 82% of GDP; tax burden: 40%; prim. energy use: 1,202 Mtoe; electricity use: 2,419 TWh; inst. capacity: 1,200 GW; self-sufficiency: 42.5%)

    

(Greece has the highest debt, ~150% of GDP, while Estonia has the lowest, ~23%)

  

(England)

(Pop.: 68 mi; GDP: US$ 3.64 tri; PPP GDP: US$ 4.49 tri; debt: 102% of GDP; tax burden: 34%; prim. energy use: 164.4 Mtoe; electricity use: 273 TWh; inst. capacity: 105 GW; self-sufficiency: ~50%)

  

Becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is the objective behind the European Green Deal, the very ambitious package of measures that should enable the continent to benefit from sustainable green transition [EC, 2023].

  

Energy mix - gas dependency

  

In 2024, fossil fuels accounted for approximately 60% of the EU’s gross available energy, comprising oil and petroleum products (38%), natural gas (21%) and solid fuels, mainly coal (10%).  Natural gas remains an important energy source, particularly for heating, industry and electricity generation.  Its share varies considerably across Member States, reaching 36% in Italy and 29% in both Hungary and Ireland.  Figure 1 shows the Europe reliance on fossil fuels in 2021 [AJ, 2023].

 

Share on renewables

  

Europe has substantial renewable energy potential and remains a global leader in the deployment of renewable technologies [IRENA].  In 2024, renewable sources accounted for approximately 25% of the EU’s gross final energy consumption.  Under the revised Renewable Energy Directive, the EU aims to achieve at least a 42.5% share by 2030 (Figure 2), with an aspirational target of 45%.

  

Wind & solar vs gas

 

Wind & solar generated a record 30.1% of EU electricity in 2025, surpassing fossil fuels collectively (29.0%) for the first time.  Renewables overall supplied 47.7% of EU electricity, while natural gas accounted for 16.7% [Ember, 2026].  This marks a major shift from 2022, when wind and solar generated 22.3% of electricity, below the combined contribution of nuclear (21.9%) and gas (19.9%) only in the comparison with those individual sources (Figure 3).

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Europe’s dependence on imported critical materials

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Europe aims to reduce its dependence on China and other external suppliers for critical raw materials essential to the energy transition.  However, complete decoupling would be neither practical nor economically desirable.  Diversifying supply chains, strengthening domestic production and expanding recycling are central to the EU’s strategy to improve supply security.  Figure 4 shows critical raw materials supply risk assessment for the EU's green transition in 2021.