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by tom_mellior 2996 days ago
Having an overall, average goal for the whole EU kind of implies that some countries that can will contribute more than those that can't. What's the problem?
1 comments

The problem with that average probably is that the countries for which it's more difficult to reach these goals usually are also those countries that account for most of the energy consumption.

If Portugal reaches 27% of energy consumption from renewable sources that's not nearly as significant in terms of absolute energy consumption than when say France or Germany reaches that goal.

Both of these countries don't have a lot of naturally occurring phenomena or places that lend themselves to hydroelectric or geothermal energy production. So, they have to resort to ways that work everywhere but are comparatively more expensive or difficult to implement.

So, while countries like Portugal or Iceland reaching such goals certainly is commendable the 'battle' will be won elsewhere.

Yeah, poor Germany, producing only 40 terawatt-hours per year using solar and 90 using wind: https://energytransition.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/non-...
Not sure why you get downvoted for that. Germany's carbon emissions are higher than most neighbours because of the excessive use of coal, but renewables are already above 27% of demand and growing.