Europe

Fossil fuels are in decline across much of Europe, with 59% of electricity now coming from clean power, including 19% from nuclear, 17% from hydro and 18% from fast-growing wind and solar.

Europe is responsible for 11% of global power sector emissions, down from 24% two decades ago, with the largest polluters Russia, Germany, Türkiye, Poland and Italy responsible for over two-thirds of these emissions.

Electricity generated from coal has fallen 36% since 2015 and now makes up just 14% of the electricity mix, having been mostly replaced by wind and solar. Overall, fossil fuels currently account for 41% of electricity production.

The global gas price crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine increased the urgency of Europe’s energy transition. Some governments have signalled a swift transition away from both coal and gas, and deployment of clean technologies is expanding rapidly. However, according to the IEA Net Zero Emissions scenario and an assessment of the latest climate models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Europe must achieve a fully decarbonised power system by the mid 2030s for a pathway that keeps 1.5C in reach. 

The UK and Germany were recently joined in their commitment to completely decarbonise their power sectors by 2035 by Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland, but a fully unified signal from Europe is currently lacking.  

Last updated: May 2024