Eurostat has reported that the European Union reduced its primary energy consumption in 2024, bringing it closer to its 2030 efficiency targets and signalling progress that also matters for energy-dependent countries such as Cyprus.
According to the statistical office of the EU, primary energy consumption across the bloc reached 1,202 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2024, marking a decrease of 0.8 per cent compared with 2023.
Eurostat said this reduction meant the EU continued to narrow the gap towards its 2030 primary energy target of 992.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent, with the distance shrinking to 21.1 per cent.
Primary energy consumption refers to the total energy demand of a country or region before transformation losses, such as electricity generation or fuel refining, are taken into account.
The unit used, million tonnes of oil equivalent or mtoe, is a standard measure that converts all forms of energy into the amount of energy released by burning one million tonnes of crude oil, allowing different energy sources to be compared on the same scale.
At the same time, final energy consumption in the EU increased, reaching 900 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2024, which was 0.7 per cent higher than in 2023.
Eurostat said final energy consumption remained 18.0 per cent above the 2030 target of 763 million tonnes of oil equivalent, compared with 17.2 per cent above target a year earlier.
Final energy consumption measures the energy actually used by households, industry, transport and services, after losses in conversion and distribution.
The 2024 figure of 1,202 million tonnes of oil equivalent for EU primary energy consumption was the lowest level recorded since 1990, which is the first year for which comparable data are available.
Eurostat recalled that primary energy consumption in the EU peaked in 2006 at 1,511 million tonnes of oil equivalent, a time when the bloc was 52.3 per cent away from its 2030 target.
By contrast, final energy consumption in the EU stood at 900 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2024, with the lowest level historically recorded in 2020 at 893 million tonnes of oil equivalent.
The data form part of the annual energy statistics used to track progress under the 2023 revision of the EU Directive on energy efficiency, which sets binding targets for member states.
Under the directive, the EU aims to limit final energy consumption to no more than 763 million tonnes of oil equivalent and primary energy consumption to no more than 992.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent by 2030.
For Cyprus, which relies heavily on imported energy, these EU-wide trends are closely watched as they shape policy, funding priorities and the pace of the transition towards greater efficiency and sustainability.
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