Greening the Future: Europe's Renewable Energy Landscape in 2030

Abstract

Abstract The increased price of energy and the limited resources of the planet have increased the worldwide attention to renewable energy resources. The purpose of this paper is to present the European context regarding these renewable sources. In addition, the evolution over time of some indicators relevant to this field is described for better shaping the general audience’s understanding of the current status on the renewable sources. Using a statistical approach, the paper ranks the member states in terms of the consumption of renewable resources in areas such as transport and electricity. Throughout the research, it has been noted that there are significant differences between member states. An example to reinforce what was previously described is the fact that, for the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption, the minimum value is approximately eight times lower than the maximum. Additionally, forecasting methods of indicators analysed based on historical data were applied to establish the course of EU27 countries for the year 2030, when the implementation period of the Sustainable Development Goals ends.