Most EU countries set to miss their 2010 renewables targets

All but two EU countries look set to miss their 2010 renewable energy targets, claim the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the European Renewable Energy Federation (EREF), one year after the European renewables directive came into force. This means Europe will fail to meet the directive's key aim of doubling renewable energy by 2010. Research by WWF and EREF shows that with existing policies, the 15 EU countries will fail to meet the target of increasing renewables' share of Europe's energy consumption to 22%, instead reaching only 15-17%. The worst offenders are likely to be Italy and the UK, with Italy estimated to achieve only 17% of electricity from renewables, compared with its target of 25%, and the UK only achieving 4% instead of its 10% target. France, which has a 21% target is predicted to fall behind by 29 TWh, although recently approved support measures for renewables could reverse this trend, say the organisations. They expect only two countries to meet their targets -- Denmark and Ireland.