Country guides and Dispatches

The share of renewables in Germany's electricity mix continues to grow, following a combination of government policies to speed up their expansion, favourable weather conditions, and a weak economy. Coal use has reached record lows and government projections for the first time show the country nearly on track to reaching its national 2030 climate targets. However, budget woes and the rise of populist movements could slow down the country's progress towards climate neutrality.

Italy has taken significant steps in its green transition over the past decade, but the current government under prime minister Giorgia Meloni is also focused on making the country a "gas hub" in the Mediterranean Sea, demonstrating its ongoing deep ties to fossil fuels. The year 2024 has started with the Italy-Africa Summit and the country's G7 presidency, both focusing on energy cooperation and addressing immigration issues through the so-called "Mattei Plan". Researchers and NGOs have criticised the country's new draft energy and climate plan (NECP) for being vague about key topics such as phasing out oil, coal and gas, and expanding alternative energy sources like wind or solar power – issues that make meeting the EU's climate and renewables targets all the harder.

Amid what has been dubbed a "super election year" in Croatia with three important votes – parliamentary, EU and presidential – it was expected that energy issues would play an important role in political campaigns. However, they were not dominant in either the parliamentary election campaign or the European election campaign. In May, a new coalition of the centre-right HDZ and the right-wing Homeland Movement (Domovinski pokret) received the green light from parliament, and the new government, in its four-year plan, highlighted plans to invest in renewable energy sources, decarbonise the transport sector, and expand the LNG terminal on the island of Krk.