The world has set much-needed ambitious targets for the energy transition in recent years: At the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference held in Dubai in December 2023, governments decided on a transition away from fossil fuels and towards the tripling of renewable power and the doubling of energy efficiency on a global level by 2030. With its Green Deal, Europe aims to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
Recently published reports, such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) Renewables 2024 report and the State of the Energy Union 2024, monitor the efforts made so far at a worldwide and European level and provide an outlook for the upcoming years. While a lot of great achievements have been already accomplished for the energy transition in the electricity domain, there remains a lot to be done, especially in the heating and cooling sector. Despite accounting for almost half of the world’s final energy consumption and nearly 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions in the last year, the huge potential of decarbonising the heat sector through the rollout of renewable technologies, such as solar thermal, is not yet sufficiently seized. The IEA warns us that to align with net zero targets, global renewable heat consumption would have to increase 2.3 times quicker than in their current forecast.
Solar Heat Europe continues to advocate for giving the heating and cooling sector the necessary attention in order to reach climate targets and provide energy security in the EU. Proudly manufactured in Europe, solar heat is a mature, competitive and affordable solution for Europe’s energy transition, already supplying 90% of the domestic demand and exporting worldwide. With proper political push and adequate incentives in place, the solar thermal sector can triple its EU based manufacturing by 2030.
Want to know more?
Read our press release on the State of the Energy Union: click here
Read our press release on the IEA Renewables 2024 report: click here
About Solar Heat Europe/ESTIF:
Solar Heat Europe/ESTIF’s mission is to promote solar heat as a key technology for the decarbonisation of heating and cooling in Europe and to realise the high potential of solar heat in the energy transition. With members in more than 15 European countries, Solar Heat Europe members cover different parts of the value chain, being based in countries as diverse as Finland or Cyprus.
Contact:
| Valérie Séjourné Managing Director valerie.sejourne@solarheateurope.eu Tel: +32 471 34 19 24 | Anna Ledro Communications and Events Officer anna.ledro@solarheateurope.eu Tel: +32 2 318 40 59 |