Europe records big leap in renewable energy

What happened

The European Union generated a record 47% of its energy from renewable sources last year and another 24% from nuclear power, energy think tank Ember said in a report released Thursday. For the first time, solar (11%) provided more of the EU's energy than coal (10%), while wind power (17%) topped gas (16%) for the second year in a row.

Who said what

"Fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU energy," said Ember energy analyst Chris Rosslowe. The "EU's electricity transition has moved faster than anyone expected" since the bloc passed its European Green Deal in 2019, and that shift is "increasing European energy independence."

About 22% of the U.S.'s electricity comes from renewable sources, The Associated Press said. Last year, "solar panels and wind turbines produced more electricity than the nation's coal-fired power plants for the first time ever," The New York Times said. But President Donald Trump is "moving to restructure the nation's energy future to block any transition away from fossil fuels" — and "testing the boundaries of presidential power to do it."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

What next?

The "ambitious" European Green Deal aims to cut EU emissions at least 55% by 2030 and to "practically zero" by 2050, the AP said. The U.S. is already "offtrack" from the Biden administration's "target of cutting emissions 50% to 52% by 2030," The Washington Post said, and it's "drifting further away from an all-renewable future" under Trump.