SDG 7 Affordable and clean energy

SDG 7 relates to the aim of ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy by 2030. Energy is indispensable in our society, but much of it still comes from fossil sources such as gas, oil and coal. For the Netherlands, SDG 7 is mainly about affordability, energy security, sustainability and energy efficiency.

• Energy consumption per capita is declining.
• Investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency as a share of GDP is at its lowest point.
• A growing share of households are unable to heat their homes adequately.

Dashboard and indicators

Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being

Resources and opportunities concern the availability and production costs of energy and investment in renewable energy. Investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency has reached its lowest level as a share of GDP since measurements began in 2018: 1.1 percent of GDP in 2024. Investment in renewable energy and energy savings are primarily focused on wind and solar energy, insulation and the reuse and extraction of heat from waste streams, solar, air, soil or water, biomass and energy-saving technologies, for both households and businesses.

The renewable energy sector accounted for 0.8 percent of total employment in 2024. Employment in this sector includes jobs in organisations that produce renewable energy, as well as companies active in all the pre- and post-operational stages. This includes activities related to energy saving, renewable energy systems and making fossil energy more sustainable (e.g. carbon capture and storage).

The scale of oil and gas reserves that are seen as economically and societally possible to extract has shrunk significantly in recent years, down to 0.2 terajoules per capita in 2025. The sharp decline between 2018 and 2023 was primarily due to the closure of the Groningen gas field. Over the past few years, a decrease in reserves in small gas and oil fields has resulted in a further reduction in fossil energy reserves. The cessation of natural gas extraction in the province of Groningen is detrimental to the achievement of the climate objectives (SDG 13) for the world as a whole, however, because the gas present in Groningen has a relatively low carbon footprint compared to alternatives such as liquefied natural gas from the United States.

The Netherlands imported 72.9 percent of its energy in 2025. Before 2017, dependency had peaked in 1970, when it reached 51.5 percent. Since 2017, imports have accounted for more than half of Dutch energy consumption each year. The European gas market is now highly interconnected, particularly in northwest Europe. Countries have also agreed to support each other in times of shortages. As a result, the energy dependence of the EU as a whole has become more significant for the Netherlands. Moreover, the market for liquefied natural gas now extends to the entire world and prices are determined at the global level. The vast majority of Dutch households still use gas for heating, hot water and cooking. However, the proportion of low-gas or gas-free homes within the housing stock is increasing, from 11.5 percent in 2023 to 13.2 percent in 2024. These homes mainly use district heating or electricity for heating, with little to no reliance on supplementary gas-based systems.

The Netherlands’ existing energy needs are still met largely through fossil fuels, and from the perspective of ensuring a secure energy supply it is therefore important that there are sufficient fossil energy reserves and stocks. On 30 September 2025, Dutch gas storage facilities were 70.6 percent full. Natural gas reserves make it possible to cope with temporary shortages or supply interruptions, for example due to cold weather. In 2025, reserves reached their second lowest point in the time series that began in 2017. Only in 2021 were stocks lower, with a fill rate of 58.6 percent. This fill rate is also low compared to other EU countries.

Use concerns the amount of energy used and saved. Total energy consumption is falling: in 2025, it stood at 142.3 gigajoules per capita. This decrease is primarily due to a shift in the structure of the Dutch economy, away from manufacturing and towards services. Compared to other EU countries, total energy consumption per capita is high in the Netherlands. This is partly attributable to the nature of the activities in the manufacturing industry: Dutch industry produces a lot of energy-intensive products, such as base metals and basic chemicals, which are then exported and processed in other countries using less energy-intensive methods. Housing accounts for part of total energy consumption. In line with the overall decrease in energy consumption, residential energy use is also falling, reaching 39.1 gigajoules in 2024 – the lowest value in the time series, which began in 1995.

The energy intensity of the economy is actually low relative to other EU countries. The difference with per-capita energy consumption is linked to the Netherlands’ relatively high GDP per capita. As a result, it is relatively high per head of population but relatively low in relation to the size of the economy. The amount of energy consumed relative to the size of the economy is trending downwards. In 2024, it fell by a further 3.5 percent to the lowest level in the time series that began in 1995. This is partly due to a shift in the structure of the Dutch economy referred to previously. When energy-intensive production processes are moved abroad, they may be performed in ways that are less energy-efficient. From a global perspective, this has a negative impact on the climate objectives of SDG 13. Greenhouse gas emissions can also be reduced as a result of shorter chains between extraction and the production of finished products, for example, or if the factories abroad are more efficient or have better access to renewable energy. Efficiency gains (e.g. through energy savings and insulation) also play a role in reduced energy intensity. Meanwhile, there have been noticeable improvements in the energy efficiency of specific activities in industry, transport, households and services (e.g. heating homes, producing a kilogram of steel or driving one kilometre in a petrol-driven car). In 2024, the energy efficiency of these activities improved by 1.4 percent compared to the previous year.

Outcomes concern the affordability, sustainability and wastage of energy. The share of renewable energy increased to 20.2 percent in 2024. This put the Netherlands in 18th place within the EU.

Since 2021, the share of households reporting that they are unable to adequately heat their homes has more than doubled (6.6 percent in 2025, compared to 2.4 percent in 2021). Energy became significantly more expensive during this period. The share of income spent on energy costs, also known as the energy ratio, was 4.7 percent in 2024, bringing it back to a level comparable to 2021. The quality of homes is improving year on year and the high price of energy has prompted households to consume less. Particularly in 2022, the energy ratio was considerably lower, with a value of 3 percent. The proportion of households with low incomes combined with high energy bills and/or poorly insulated homes  is also back to a level comparable to 2021. In 2024, 6.1 percent of all households fell into this category. In 2022 and 2023, the figure was 4 percent. One possible explanation for this increase is that the government has stopped providing targeted energy compensation to low-income households. Without this compensation, the proportion of households in energy poverty would have been significantly higher in both years; over 6 percent in 2022 and nearly 9 percent in 2023. For these households in energy poverty, the energy ratio increased in 2024 and is higher than average, at 11.5 percent.

In the Netherlands, the reliability and security of electricity supply is very high for homes connected to the power grid, as is evident from the frequency of power outages. In 2025, households and businesses experienced an average total outage duration of 23 minutes. It should be noted that there have been more planned outages due to large-scale maintenance of the power grid.

Subjective assessment concerns satisfaction with the price and availability of energy. The proportion of consumers reporting being satisfied or very satisfied with their own energy supplier’s services was 71 percent in 2025. Half of consumers were satisfied or very satisfied with the rates offered by their energy supplier.