Bulgaria is among the EU countries that experienced a notable drop in the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling in 2024, with the share declining by 1.9 percentage points compared to the previous year. This information comes from the latest Eurostat data on gross final energy consumption from renewable sources in this sector.
Across the European Union, however, renewable energy use for heating and cooling continued to grow, reaching 26.7% in 2024. This represents the highest level since Eurostat began tracking the indicator in 2004, when the share was 11.7%. The year-on-year increase of 0.5 percentage points is below the long-term average annual rise of 0.75 points observed between 2004 and 2024. The growth in the EU is largely driven by increased adoption of biomass and heat pumps. Under Directive (EU) 2023/2413, member states are required to raise their average annual share of renewable energy in heating and cooling by at least 0.8 percentage points for 2021–2025 and by at least 1.1 points for 2026–2030. For the period 2021–2024, the EU average annual growth has been 0.93 points.
Among EU countries, Sweden leads in renewable energy use for heating and cooling at 67.8%, followed by Finland with 62.6% and Latvia at 61.8%. At the other end of the spectrum, Ireland recorded the lowest share at 7.9%, while the Netherlands and Belgium both reported 11.3%.
In 2024, sixteen EU countries saw their renewable energy share rise, with the most significant gains in Malta (+6.0 points), Luxembourg (+3.7 points), and Denmark (+1.9 points). Conversely, the steepest declines occurred in Estonia (-11.1 points), Greece (-2.9 points), and Bulgaria (-1.9 points), placing the country among those with the largest annual decreases.