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Indicator Assessment
Gross inland consumption for the EU-27 decreased by 3.5 % in 2011 due to another economic set back after a mild economic recovery in 2010. Gross inland consumption in 2011 was 2 % above its level in 1990 but 6.9 % below its level in 2005. In the EEA, gross inland consumption decreased by 3.0 % in 2011 to a value 5.9 % above and 1.2 % below its levels in 1990 and 2005 respectively. In the non-EU EEA countries, gross inland consumption increased by 72.6 % between 1990 and 2011. The main reason for the difference in the trend for this group of countries was a large increase in gross inland consumption in Turkey and, to a certain extent, in Norway.
Fossil fuels continued to dominate total gross energy consumption in EU-27, but their share is declining: from 83.1 % in 1990 to 75.8 % in 2011. The share of renewable energy sources more than doubled over the period, from 4.3 % in 1990 to 10 % in 2011, increasing at an average annual rate of 4.2 %/year. The average annual growth during the period 2005-2011 was higher at 6.5 %/year. The share of nuclear energy in total gross inland consumption increased slightly from 12.3 % in 1990 to 13.8% in 2011.
Primary energy consumption by fuel
Note: N/A
The structure of the energy mix in gross inland energy consumption provides an indication of the environmental pressures associated with energy consumption. The type and magnitude of the environmental impacts associated with energy consumption, such as resource depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutant emissions, water pollution, accumulation of radioactive waste, etc., strongly depend on the type and amount of fuel consumed as well as abatement technologies applied.
Energy consumption is measured in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). The share of each fuel in total energy consumption is presented in the form of a percentage.
Environmental context
The level, the evolution as well as the structure of the total gross inland energy consumption provide an indication of the extent environmental pressures caused by energy production and consumption are likely to diminish or not. The indicator displays data disaggregated by fuel type as the associated environmental impacts are fuel-specific.
The consumption of fossil fuels (such as crude oil, oil products, hard coal, lignite and natural and derived gas) provides a proxy indicator for resource depletion, CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution levels (e.g. SO2 and NOX), water pollution and biodiversity loss. The degree of environmental impact depends on the relative share of different fossil fuels and the extent to which pollution abatement measures are used. Natural gas, for instance, has approximately 40 % less carbon than coal per unit of energy content, and 25 % less carbon content than oil, and contains only marginal quantities of sulphur.
The level of nuclear energy consumption provides an indication of the trends in the amount of nuclear waste generated and of the risks associated with radioactive leaks and accidents. Increasing consumption of nuclear energy at the expense of fossil fuels would on the other hand contribute to reductions in CO2 emissions.
Renewable energy consumption is a measure of the contribution from technologies that are, in general, more environmentally benign, as they produce no (or very little) net CO2 and usually significantly lower levels of other pollutants. Renewable energy can, however, have impacts on landscapes and ecosystems (for example, potential flooding and changed water levels from large hydro power) and the incineration of municipal waste (which is generally made up of both renewable and non-renewable material) may also generate local air pollution.
Policy context
On 15 December 2011, the European Commission adopted the Communication "Energy Roadmap 2050". The EU is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80-95% below 1990 levels by 2050 in the context of necessary reductions by developed countries as a group. In the Energy Roadmap 2050 the Commission explores the challenges posed by delivering the EU's decarbonisation objective while at the same time ensuring security of energy supply and competitiveness.
On 10 November 2010, the European Commission has adopted the Communication "Energy 2020 - A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy". The Communication defines defines the energy priorities for the next ten years and sets the actions to be taken in order to tackle the challenges of saving energy, achieving a market with competitive prizes and secure supplies, boosting technological leadership, and effectively negotiate with our international partners.
Council adopted on 6 April 2009 the climate-energy legislative package containing measures to fight climate change and promote renewable energy. This package is designed to achieve the EU's overall environmental target of a 20 % reduction in greenhouse gases and a 20 % share of renewable energy in the EU's total energy consumption by 2020.The climate action and renewable energy (CARE) package includes the following main policy documents:
Presents a roadmap for action in line with a 80-95% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050.
Proposes additional measures to achieve the 20 % primary energy saving target by 2020.
Energy efficiency is the first of the five priorities of the new energy strategy defined by the Commission.
Directive 2009/29/EC of the European parliament and of the Council amending directive 2003/87/ec so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the community
Directive 2009/31/ EC of the European parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide
Directive 2009/28/ EC of the European parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
Community guidelines on state aid for environmental protection (2008/c 82/01)
Directive 2008/101/ EC of the European parliament and of the Council amending directive 2003/87/ec so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas Emission allowance trading within the community
Regulation (EC) no 443/2009 of the European parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the community’s integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles
Regulation (EC) no 510/2011 of the European parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles
Aims to control emissions of SO2, NOx and particulate matter from large combustion plants (> 50 MW).
Strategic review on short, medium and long term targets on EU energy security.
Directive on intensification of existing regulation on energy-efficiency of products.
The Member States must apply minimum requirements as regards the energy performance of new and existing buildings, ensure the certification of their energy performance and require the regular inspection of boilers and air conditioning systems in buildings.
Strengthens the energy performance requirements of the 2002 Directive.
Sets targets for the GHG emissions from different fuel types (e.g. by improving refinery technologies) and allows the blending of up to 10 % of biofuels into diesel and petrol.
References
COM(2011) 112 final: A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050
COM(2011) 109 final: Energy Efficiency Plan 2011
COM(2010) 639 final: Energy 2020 – A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy
COD/2007/0297 - Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles
COD/2008/0013 - Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system of the Community
COD/2008/0014 - Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020
COM(2007) 18 final/2 - Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC as regards the specification of petrol, diesel and gas-oil and introducing a mechanism to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of road transport fuels and amending Council Directive 1999/32/EC, as regards the specification of fuel used by inland waterway vessels and repealing Directive 93/12/EEC
COM(2008) 778 final/2 - Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by energy-related products
COM(2008) 781 final - Second Strategic Energy Review
Directive 2001/80/EC - Directive on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants
Directive 2002/91/EC - Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings
Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings (recast)
Directive 2005/32/EC - Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
Directive 2009/28/EC - Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC, Brussels, 2009
BP (2012) - BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2012 http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9041232&contentId=7075237
EEA (2009) - Review and analysis of emissions' life cycle analysis studies in the field of conventional and renewable energy generation technologies. Copenhagen, EEA, February 2009
EU (2009) Climate action and renewable energy package (CARE Package)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/climate_action.htm
UNFCCC (1997) Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted at COP3 in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997
The Directive 2012/27/eu on energy efficiency establishes a common framework of measures for the promotion of energy efficiency within the European Union in order to achieve the headline target of 20% reduction in gross inland energy consumption. Member States are requested to set indicative targets. It is up to the Member states whether they base their targets on gross inland consumption, final energy consumption, primary or final energy savings or energy intensity.
Technical information
Qualitative information
Relevance: 1
Accuracy: 1
Comparability over time: 1
Comparability over space: 1
No gap filling necessary
No methodology references available.
The share of energy consumption for a particular fuel could decrease even though the actual amount of energy used from that fuel grows, as the development of the share for a particular fuel depends on the change in its consumption relative to the total consumption of energy.
From an environmental point of view, however, the relative contribution of each fuel has to be put in the wider context. Absolute (as opposed to relative) volumes of energy consumption for each fuel are the key to understanding the environmental pressures. These depend on the total amount of energy consumption as well as on the fuel mix used and the extent to which pollution abatement technologies are used.
Total energy consumption may not accurately represent the energy needs of a country (in terms of final energy demand). Fuel switching may in some cases have a significant effect in changing total energy consumption even though there is no change in (final) energy demand. This is because different fuels and different technologies convert primary energy into useful energy with different efficiency rates.
Officially reported data, updated annually. No obvious weaknesses.
Data have been traditionally compiled by Eurostat through the annual Joint Questionnaires, shared by Eurostat and the International Energy Agency, following a well established and harmonised methodology. Methodological information on the annual Joint Questionnaires and data compilation can be found in Eurostat's web page for metadata on energy statistics.
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_SDDS/en/nrg_quant_esms.htm
The structure of the energy mix in gross inland energy consumption provides an indication of the environmental pressures associated with energy consumption. The type and magnitude of the environmental impacts associated with energy consumption, such as resource depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutant emissions, water pollution, accumulation of radioactive waste, etc., strongly depend on the type and amount of fuel consumed as well as abatement technologies applied.
For references, please go to https://eea.europa.eu./data-and-maps/indicators/primary-energy-consumption-by-fuel-3/assessment-1 or scan the QR code.
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