Some EU Countries Are Reaching 2030 Sustainability Targets Early

Multiple countries in the EU are already hitting their sustainability goals set for 2030, according to a new study.

Researchers analyzed EU countries’ progress on certain goals laid out by the “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” resolution adopted in 2015 by the UN. The resolution set 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including clean water, clean energy, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

The study, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, reviewed progress toward Sustainable Development Goal No. 7, which is to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all,” according to the UN website.

The study authors outlined seven indicators they used to analyze progress toward the overall SDG 7 goal from 2010 to 2021: 1) primary energy consumption; 2) final energy consumption; 3) final energy consumption in households per capita; 4) energy productivity; 5) share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption; 6) dependency on energy imports; and 7) share of population unable to keep their homes adequately warm. 

The first three indicators listed — primary energy consumption, final energy consumption, final energy consumption in households per capita — are the same set by the European Commission, the study authors wrote.

As it turns out, many countries have made great strides in developing cleaner sources of energy. According to the study, Malta had the greatest improvement of progress toward SDG 7 during the time period analyzed, although it still had a way to go to meet the overall goal. There were also significant improvements made in Cyprus, Latvia, Belgium, Ireland and Poland. Bulgaria remained farthest from the goal, The Guardian reported. The study authors found that Sweden was closest to meeting SDG 7 entirely, followed by Denmark, Estonia, then Austria.

The research showed that Sweden, Finland and Latvia surpassed the 40% target for indicator No. 5, the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption.

“Such results were achieved by relying on hydropower and solid biofuels, which are regarded as more environmentally friendly compared to conventional energy sources,” the authors wrote.

Further, Sweden and Estonia met the target for indicator No. 6, and Spain, Malta and Portugal met the No. 3 indicator target in 2021.

The authors found that only Greece had met the first two indicators by 2021, and the authors explained that higher energy consumption following the COVID-19 pandemic kept many EU countries from meeting indicators No. 1 and No. 2 early.

“It is worth emphasizing that during the pandemic, some improvement could be observed for certain indicators. Counter-pandemic measures helped to enhance energy efficiency, which is one of the key pillars in achieving SDG 7,” the study concluded. “The restrictions on public life and lower economic activity reduced energy consumption from 2019 to 2020 by more than 8%. The reduction in final energy consumption also resulted in greater energy supply and increased the share of renewables in gross final energy consumption.”

However, the authors noted that the pandemic led to short-term trends, including an increase in household energy consumption, and it will be important to keep monitoring and analyzing changes toward the indicators in order to meet SDG 7 by 2030.