Last week, EiD published a post on the recent report from the EC’s Joint Research Council. The February issue of the British magazine, Energy in Buildings & Industry, published the following news item on the report.
JRC report: Assessing the impact of Energy Efficiency on the EU Energy Consumption in 2010-2023
Between 2010 and 2023, primary energy consumption across the 27 EU countries fell by 17.1%. That is the conclusion of a definitive new ”Index Decomposition Analysis 2026” undertaken by the Joint Research Council of the European Commission. The most important contribution factor was lower final demand for energy, rather than by efficiency improvements in electricity transformation.
The strongest energy efficiency improvements were in Greece, the Netherlands, Estonia and Denmark, each country with an equivalent drop of at least 30%. Among the worst performing were Romania, Portugal, Hungary, Luxembourg, Lithuania, France, Croatia and Latvia.
Energy intensity improvements led to a 21% reduction in household energy consumption levels, a 19% drop in the services sector, and 8% in industry. Surface road and rail consumption dropped by 3%. In contrast, there were increases in both freight and in agriculture of 4% , and of 19.8% in air transport.
The JRC notes with satisfaction that “the main driver of overall industrial energy consumption decline was associated with energy intensity improvements, which contributed to a drop in energy consumption of 46.3 Mtoe” In contrast, structural changes in the industrial sector – a shift from higher energy intensity activity towards companies with lower energy intensity- “played a secondary role in limiting energy consumption. Both overall employment and labour productivity showed considerable gains.
The Analysis concludes that “rapid advancements in digitalisation, automation, process optimisation, and the electrification of end-uses are projected to play a decisive role in lowering energy intensity, enhancing productivity, and supporting the shift towards cleaner and more efficient energy systems.
“These technological improvements, together with ongoing structural changes in the economy, underpin the foreseen reductions in energy consumption in the long term.
At the same time, the growing effectiveness of EU energy and climate policies continues to strengthen this downward trajectory of energy use.
“The recast Energy Efficiency Directive (EED, 2023) has reinforced the framework for achieving binding energy reduction targets, improving the implementation and monitoring of efficiency measures at national level. Similarly, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is delivering tangible results through the renovation of existing building stock. “Their combined effects are expected to consolidate the ongoing decoupling between economic growth and energy demand, positioning the EU on a credible and accelerating pathway toward its 2030 energy efficiency legal objectives and the overarching goal of climate neutrality by 2050.”
Note: Since departure from the EU, the UK government has published no similar evaluation of its energy efficiency policies.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 