1. Background

In the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), EU member states set targets and agreements regarding renewable energy. The RED has existed since 2009 (Directive 2009/28/EC) and was revised in 2018 (Directive (EU) 2018/2001, RED II, effective from 2021) and again in 2023 (Directive (EU) 2023/2413, RED III, effective from 2025). Besides targets for the share of renewables in total energy consumption, the Directive includes several sub-targets, such as the share of renewable energy for transport and the share of renewable energy for heating and cooling. Monitoring of RED targets is done through reporting to EUROSTAT (via SHARES). In the Netherlands, CBS carries out this reporting. CBS also publishes statistics on renewable energy consumption following RED definitions on StatLine.

Since the RED II came into force in 2021, renewable energy for cooling may, under certain conditions, be counted for both the total share of renewable energy and for sub-targets related to heating and cooling. In this way, RED monitoring differs from regular international energy statistics, which do not consider cold as an energy source.