Americans are led to believe that Europe is awash in wind and solar power, but the renewable most consumed is wood, says the Economist.(i) According to the Economist, wood, the fuel of preindustrial societies, represents about half of all renewables consumed in the European Union in some form or another—sticks, pellets, sawdust. The European Union has a target of getting 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. To get that much renewable energy, it cannot rely solely on wind and solar power. Unfortunately for its carbon reduction goals, the reliance on wood is not helping for it emits more carbon dioxide than coal.
