Renewable energy is now the biggest source of electricity in Europe

For the first time, renewable energy has now become the biggest source of electricity in the European Union, beating fossil fuels. According to a report by Ember Climate, renewable sources powered 38% of electricity in the European Union (EU) in 2020.

That gives renewable sources a slight lead over fossil fuels—which accounted for 37% of Europe’s electricity. The other 25% comes from nuclear energy.

Separately, Germany and Spain have achieved the same milestone for the first time last year. The UK has reached the milestone as well, though the country officially left the EU in January of 2020.

Of the renewables that rose in 2020, wind generation went up to 9% and solar generation went up to 15%. The two sources generated a fifth of Europe’s electricity in 2020.

While it is good news, Director of Agora Energiewende Patrick Graichen advises that people shouldn’t be complacent. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the overall trend from fossil fuels to renewables.

“The European Green Deal—our response to the climate crisis—requires some 100 TWh of annual additions of renewables, a doubling of the deployment speed seen in 2020. Post-pandemic recovery programmes thus need to go hand-in-hand with accelerated climate action,” said Graichen.

The European Green Deal plans to cut the EU’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2030—and eliminating them altogether by 2050. Climate neutrality would mean that emissions would not further impact the climate.

As for Malaysia, CEO of the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Centre (MGTC) Shamsul Bahar Mohd Nor said that the Malaysian government proposes to “continue with the successful Green Technology Financial Scheme, with an allocation of RM2 billion”. This would encourage private sectors—mainly the manufacturing and services industries—to participate in green technology.

To promote the usage of energy-efficient appliances, the government is also offering a RM200 rebate for new fridge and air-conditioners with 4 or 5 star rating. You can read more about it here.

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