Expert Comment — Europe Programme
3 March 2026
The European Union’s energy transition has entered a new and more difficult phase. The early stages — building wind and solar capacity, setting targets, passing legislation — were relatively straightforward. The current phase — integrating variable renewables into the grid, managing the social costs of transition, maintaining industrial competitiveness in a high-cost energy environment — is proving far more challenging. And the political consensus that has sustained European climate policy for a decade is showing signs of strain.
The Renewable Revolution
The pace of renewable energy deployment in Europe has been extraordinary. The EU installed a record 70 GW of new solar capacity and 17 GW of new wind capacity in 2025, bringing the share of renewables in electricity generation to over 45 per cent. Solar capacity alone has more than tripled since 2021, driven by a combination of supportive policies, falling costs and the energy security imperative created by the Russian gas crisis.