This growth is similar to that observed for the global share of renewable sources in the Group of 27, which increased from 10% in 2004 to 22% in 2020.

According to a report by ECO, the evolution of the industrial, services and domestic sector (including the electrification of heating through heat pumps) has contributed to the growth of renewable energies in both heating and cooling.

Among Member States, Sweden stands out with two thirds (66%) of the energy used for heating and cooling in 2020 coming from renewable sources (mainly biomass and heat pumps). Estonia and Finland (both with 58%), Latvia (57%), Denmark (51%) and Lithuania (50%) follow suit, with more than half of the energy used for these purposes coming from clean energy.

Portugal appears well positioned in the list, in seventh place, with 41.5% of heating and cooling being guaranteed by renewable energies that abound in the country.

Iceland (EFTA country) also stands out with 80% of renewable energy used for heating and cooling (mainly due to geothermal energy available in the country).

In contrast, in Ireland (6%), the Netherlands and Belgium (both at 8%) clean energies contributed much less to heating and cooling. In these countries, the share of renewables in heating and cooling is 6 and 5 percentage points lower, respectively, than their overall share. This is the biggest difference between all EU countries.

Renewable energy sources used for heating and cooling include solar thermal, geothermal, ambient heat captured by heat pumps, solid, liquid and gaseous biofuels.