Key findings of this report published by the European Commission are:

  • Total energy subsidies in the EU in 2024 were worth EUR 340 billion, a slight decrease (-5%) compared to 2023 (EUR 360 billion) and significantly lower (-25%) than 2022, at the height of the crisis (EUR 457 billion). However, they remained considerably above the historical average (EUR 190 billion in 2015-2019). 
  • The share of non-targeted energy subsidies, benefiting the use of all energy carriers across all end-users in a cross-sectoral way, remained high at almost half of all energy subsidies (48%) and more than twice the historic average (21% in 2015-2019). 
  • Temporary measures aimed at addressing high energy prices decreased in value by 38% (to EUR 98 billion) in 2024 compared with 2023 and were below half their value (-55%) compared with 2022 (EUR 219 billion), as Member States terminated many such support measures in response to energy prices coming down after their historic peaks in 2022 and 2023. However, this still fell short of the objective set by the Council to wind down energy crisis-related subsidies completely by 2024. 
  • Renewable energy subsidies rebounded to EUR 76 billion in 2024, representing an increase in value of 39% compared to 2023 (EUR 55 billion), while remaining around 12% below the average for the period 2015-2021 (EUR 87 billion).
  • In 2024, fossil fuel subsidies (FFS) were worth EUR 97 billion, well in excess of the average for the period 2015-2019 of EUR 60 billion. However, in 2024, due to the phase-out of many temporary crisis measures, FFSs declined by 20% compared to 2023 (EUR 121 billion) and were down by 42% from their peak in 2022 (EUR 168 billion). 
  • The purpose of energy subsidies remained first and foremost to support energy consumption (70% of total energy subsidies or EUR 238 billion in 2024), and then to support energy production (24% or EUR 82 billion). 
  • In 2024, environmentally harmful subsidies fell by 26% to EUR 110 billion (32% of the total), while non-environmentally harmful energy subsidies rose by 10% to EUR 230 billion (68%). The largest share of environmentally harmful subsidies (EUR 89 billion or 81%) was accounted for by fossil fuels subsidies.
  • According to the national phase-out plans communicated by Member States in 2023 and 2024, fewer than half (39% or EUR 38 billion) of all fossil fuel subsidies had a planned end-date before 2025, another 8% (EUR 8 billion) had a planned end-date between 2026 and 2030, while the remaining 52% (EUR 50 billion) had either no end-date or an end-date set for after 2030.

Access the report here