In March 2007, the Heads of State and Government of the EU Member States adopted a binding target of having 20% of the final energy consumption come from renewable energy by 2020.

To meet such targets, the European Commission drafted a Directive designed to promote the use of energy from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and amend and subsequently repeal Directives 2001/77/EC (promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market) and 2003/30/EC (promotion of the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport). The Directive contains a series of elements to create the necessary legislative framework to make 20% of energy consumption to come from renewable energy become a reality. The Directive was published in the Official Journal June 5, 2009.

Both heating and cooling are covered in the RES Directive, marking the first time the industry has been included in the renewable energy field. Aerothermal, geothermal and hydrothermal heat pumps are recognized in the RES Directive as source of renewable energy, as long as their final energy output is larger than the primary energy input. The energy used to drive heat pumps should therefore be deducted from the total usable heat. Only heat pumps with an output that significantly exceeds the primary energy needed to drive it should be taken into account.

To view the RES Directive, visit:
Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources