EU agrees on 2030 renewable energy target

The European Union reached a political agreement on Thursday on an ambitious 2030 target to expand the use of renewable energy, a key step in the bloc's fight against climate change and plans to ditch Russia's fossil fuels.

The agreement calls for an 11.7 percent reduction in final energy consumption across the EU region by 2030, which lawmakers say will help fight climate change and reduce Europe's use of Russian fossil fuels.

In addition, Marcus Pieper, a member of the European Parliament, tweeted that EU countries and the European Parliament have agreed that by 2030, 42.5% of the energy in the 27 EU member states will come from renewable sources such as wind and solar. The current ratio is 32%.

To achieve this goal, countries will need to retrofit millions of leaky buildings to reduce energy waste. The policy is crucial to the EU's fight against climate change, as most European buildings are heated with fossil fuels.

Negotiators agreed that by 2030, end users in the region, such as homes and factories, should consume 11.7 percent less energy than expected. But the deal fell short of the 13 percent target proposed by the European Commission last year to help countries wean themselves off Russian fossil fuels more quickly.

According to IT Home, the target will be legally binding. Countries will set their own optional national targets, but if they collectively fall short of the 11.7% target, the European Commission will amend them.

Countries must reduce final energy consumption by an average of 1.49% per year from 2024 to 2030. Countries must also speed up the renovation of public buildings to at least 3% of the total area of public buildings annually.

The deal will go to the European Parliament and EU countries for a final vote, usually a formality process that will not make any changes to the agreement.