There’s nothing government likes more than a good target. Sadly, although inevitably, however, it seems that hitting them is far more difficult than announcing them.

The latest target to come under scrutiny is the commitment by the UK government to adhere to the European Union’s plans concerning energy production from renewable sources. Earlier this year all EU heads of state agreed to work towards producing 20 percent of their country’s energy from renewable sources by 2020 – a figure that according to a report from leading officials now seems not only unlikely, but almost impossible.

The Guardian report that a leaked paper said that Britain “has achieved little so far on renewables”, and claimed that raising the proportion of renewables from two percent to nine percent would be “challenging” – hardly surprising given official’s concerns that this jump would involve a further investment of some four billion pounds. All of which doesn’t auger particularly well for the 11 percent leap that would then be required before 2020.

In another potentially damaging revelation the paper suggests that ministers examine “what options there are for statistical interpretations of the target that would make it easier to achieve.” All of which sounds suspiciously like the kind of spin that Gordon Brown proudly announced the UK had left behind when he took over the reigns at No.10.

There is though, a very slight light at the end of an increasingly dark tunnel. The targets set at the EU’s spring summit set the 20 percent target across the 27-country bloc and did not specify individual targets for member countries. With that in mind the UK will be hoping that the rest of the continent is pulling up its socks with renewed vigour to make up for its own shortfalls.