EU primary energy consumption decreased 4% in 2022

In 2022, primary energy consumption in the EU reached 1 257 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), a 4.1% decrease compared with 2021. Data show that in 2022 the EU moved closer to the 2030 target of 992.5 Mtoe with the gap narrowing to 26.7%, after registering a wider difference in 2021 (31.2% away from the target).  

Final energy consumption reached 940 Mtoe in 2022, a 2.8% decrease compared with 2021. In 2022, final energy consumption was 23.3% away from the 2030 target (763 Mtoe), while in 2021, it was 26.8% away from it. 

This information comes from the most recent annual data on energy statistics published by Eurostat. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article. 

Source dataset: nrg_ind_eff

Following the decline registered in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic across sectors, EU primary energy consumption increased again in 2021. The year 2022 shows better results than in 2019, before the pandemic, when primary energy consumption was at 1 354 Mtoe and 36.5% away from the target. 

The 1 257 Mtoe registered for primary energy consumption in 2022 was the second lowest level since 1990 (the first year for which data are available), and the lowest was in 2020 (1 236 Mtoe). Primary energy consumption peaked in 2006 at 1 511 Mtoe, indicating that the EU was 52.3% away from the target. 

Source dataset: nrg_ind_eff

For final energy consumption, the level registered in 2022 is the same as in 1995, when final energy consumption was also at 940 Mtoe. The year 2020 recorded the lowest level (906 Mtoe) and the closest the EU ever was to the 763 Mtoe target for 2030 – 18.8% away.  

Targets presented in this article correspond to the 2023 revision of the Directive on energy efficiency. This revision set more ambitious targets for 2030: not more than 763 Mtoe for final energy consumption and not more than 992.5 Mtoe for primary energy consumption (compared to 846 and 1 128, respectively, set in the 2018 Directive on energy efficiency).This revision raised the EU’s ambition for energy efficiency and established ‘energy efficiency first’ as a fundamental principle of EU energy policy, giving it legal standing for the first time. In practical terms, this means that energy efficiency must be considered by EU countries in all relevant policy and major investment decisions taken in the energy and non-energy sectors.