Definition: renewable energy is measured as the share of energy consumption from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption, as defined in the European Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Official Journal of the European Union, 5/6/2009). Gross final energy consumption is the energy consumed by all final consumers, including losses on the transport network and the consumption of the energy sector itself. The data come from Eurostat.

Goal: the share of renewable energy must reach 33% by 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 7.2: “By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.”

The Federal Long-Term Strategic Vision for Sustainable Development contains objective 16: “The low-carbon forms of energy will predominate in the energy mix. Renewable energy sources will be a significant part of it"(Belgian Official Gazette, 08/10/2013).

At European level, the Directive 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Official Journal of the European Union), sets a goal of 32% share of renewable energy for 2030 for the EU. In 2023, this directive was amended by Directive 2023/2413, which now imposes a binding target of 42.5% renewable sources in the EU's gross final energy consumption in 2030.

In addition, the European Regulation 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action requires all EU Member States to prepare a National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) for the period 2021-2030 (Official Journal of the European Union). In response the final update of the Belgian National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 (PNEC 2025) sets a target of 20.4% renewable energy in the gross final energy consumption by 2030. This percentage, based on the 'with additional measures' projections of the PNEC 2025, is still below the indicative target of 33% calculated for Belgium in accordance with the formula in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and mentioned in this PNEC 2025 (Concere/CNC, 2025). The latter is used for the evaluation.

UN indicator: the selected indicator corresponds to indicator 7.2.1 - Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption.

Sources

• Belgian Official Gazette: http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi/welcome.pl; research on http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/doc/rech_f.htm.

• Concere/CNC (2025), Mise à jour finale du Plan national belge en matière d'énergie et de climat 2021-2030 (PNEC 2025), https://www.nationalenergyclimateplan.be/en (consulted on 24/11/2025).

• Official Journal of the European Union: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/oj/direct-access.html?locale=nen.