Which European nations lead the way with renewable energy? Euronews Answers

 Commission approves €3.5 billion support for offshore windfarms in Belgium
Commission approves €3.5 billion support for offshore windfarms in Belgium Copyright Reuters
By Euronews
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By 2020, many European countries are trying to reduce greenhouse gases and lower climate change in accordance to the Paris Agreement. Here are some of the EU countries leading the way with renewable energy sources.

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By 2020, many European countries aim to meet their climate change goals in accordance with the Paris Agreement and adopting renewable energy sources is one of those ways.

According to Eurostat: Austria, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark and Latvia, are doing a good job - with more than half of their electricity consumed in 2016 being generated from renewable sources. Meanwhile, in contrast, there were four countries where less than 10 percent of the electricity consumed in the same year came from renewable sources (Malta, Luxembourg, Hungary and Cyprus.)

In 2016, electricity generation from renewable sources contributed to more than one quarter, or 30 percent, of total gross electricity consumption in the EU, according to Eurostat.

Hydropower is the most important source of renewable energy, followed closely by wind power and then solar power. Other renewable sources for generating electricity include wood, biogas, renewable waste and geothermal energy.

On Thursday, the European Commission approved a €3.5 billion support package for three Belgian offshore wind farms located in the North Sea. As Belgium is one of the lowest ranking countries, this initiative is an attempt to combat that.

At the moment, Belgium is trying to shift away from nuclear dependency and meet its commitment to the Paris Agreement by hitting the 13% mark, according to Eurostat.

The Paris Agreement aims to keep the global temperature rise this century below 2 degrees Celsius and to help nations deal with climate change.

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