Energy efficiency can ease energy pressure on the EU — OilPrice
Energy efficiency, the development of renewable generation and electrification can partially mitigate the impact of rising energy prices on the European Union’s economy. OilPrice expressed this assessment in an analytical column examining the consequences of the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the rise in Brent oil prices.
According to data cited by the publication, Brent traded slightly above $104 per barrel, while its annual price increase amounted to 58%. In May, the European Commission lowered its forecast for EU economic growth in 2026 from 1.5% to 1.1%, while expecting acceleration to 1.4% the following year. The unemployment rate, according to these estimates, is expected to remain around 6%.
Less energy per unit of GDP
According to OilPrice, the EU now uses approximately 44% less energy per euro of economic output than it did in 1995. Between 1990 and 2024, the bloc’s economy grew by more than 70%, while net greenhouse gas emissions fell by 40%. Primary energy consumption declined by 9.6% in the decade to 2024, and by 21% in Germany.
The column’s author links this trend to building insulation, the replacement of gas boilers with heat pumps, and the development of cycling infrastructure. As an example, the publication cites Paris, where about 1,000 kilometres of cycling infrastructure were built across two phases of the Plan Vélo.
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Different dependence on gas
OilPrice compares Spain and Italy as an example of differing energy-system resilience. According to the publication, gas set electricity prices for approximately 15% of hours during the year in Spain, compared with 89% in Italy. Renewable sources provided 55.5% of electricity generation in Spain in 2025, or 56.6% including self-consumption.
Italy, according to the cited estimates, imports 74.8% of its energy, while fossil fuels supplied 52.3% of its electricity. At the same time, the publication cautions that reduced energy consumption in industry is partly explained by a decline in energy-intensive production. In Germany, output in such sectors fell by 15.2% between February 2022 and March 2026, according to the column, while employment declined by 53,300 jobs.
Dependence on imported LNG
Russia’s share of EU gas imports, according to OilPrice, fell from 45% in 2021 to about 12% in 2025. At the same time, the replacement was largely achieved through US liquefied natural gas: the United States supplied 58% of European LNG imports in 2025 and 63% in the first quarter of the current year.
As the publication notes, the European Commission intends to increase the share of electrification in final energy consumption from 21.3% to 32% by 2030 and expand energy-storage system capacity by approximately fourfold. The pace of electricity-grid and storage development, as well as competition for budget resources with defence spending, remain separate challenges.
