Cyprus outpaces EU average in shift towards energy efficiency

Cyprus has recorded a 23.2 per cent reduction in its net domestic energy use intensity over the last decade, according to Eurostat.

The figures show that the EU economy used 56.1 million terajoules of energy in 2023, representing a 4.1 per cent decrease compared with the previous year.

Businesses and government bodies were responsible for 72.3 per cent of total production activities, while household consumption accounted for the remaining 27.7 per cent.

When examining usage by specific economic activity, manufacturing held the largest share at 14.3 million terajoules, which is 25.5 per cent of the overall total.

This was followed by the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning at 17.9 per cent and transport and storage at 12.3 per cent.

The sector for electricity and gas supply saw the sharpest decrease in energy use between 2022 and 2023, falling by 8.7 per cent.

Manufacturing also saw a decline of 5.5 per cent, but the transportation and storage sector was the only activity to record an increase, rising by 8.1 per cent.

Efficiency progress across the bloc between 2014 and 2023 was described as mixed, with Estonia and Ireland achieving the most rapid declines in energy intensity.

In contrast, Malta and Lithuania were the only member states to observe an increase in energy use intensity during this ten-year period.

Cyprus performed strongly with its 23.2 per cent decline, outperforming neighbouring Greece which saw a reduction of 19.6 per cent.

A decrease in energy intensity indicates that an economy has become more efficient by producing more value from the same amount of energy.

The findings highlight a broader trend of decoupling economic growth from energy consumption across most of the European Union.