14 European Union Member States Will Miss 2020 Targets

A new report from the European Commission has found that 14 European Union member states will fail to meet their 20% renewable energy target by 2020 based on current progress.

The EU Tracking Roadmap released by the Keep on Track! monitoring body warned that Belgium, the Czech Republic, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, and the UK are all likely to miss their 2020 renewable energy targets.

There is uncertainty that Germany, Finland, Ireland, and Slovakia will make their targets, while predictions show Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Romania, and Sweden will all comfortably hit their targets by 2020.

According to Keep on Track!, “in order for Member States to achieve their 2020 target, it is essential that a predictable and stable legislative framework for RES is ensured at the national level and, in particular, that any retrospective or retroactive changes to existing support schemes are avoided.”

This “predictable and stable legislative framework” is exactly what is causing some countries — such as the UK and France — into this position where they may miss their targets. Lack of governmental support and outright governmental interference has created investor uncertainty in a number of countries, causing the industry to falter.

Of course, there are also nations which have never got off the ground, so to speak, due to a wide range of issues.

The full EU Tracking Roadmap is available for download (PDF) and includes summaries on each and every European Union member, the barriers that might or are preventing them from reaching their renewable energy targets, and policy recommendations to meet their targets.

While you may not be a leader of one of these countries, the report is an interesting read nonetheless.