On Tuesday, EU officials are to unveil plans that will “substantially reduce” the region’s dependence on Russian gas in 2022, Frans Timmermans, head of climate policy, told EU lawmakers on Monday.
“I think we can come up with a plan… that will significantly reduce our dependence on Russian gas as early as this year and make us independent of Russian gas imports in a few years. I think it’s possible, it’s not easy, but it’s doable,” Timmermans said.
The European Union depends on Russia for about 40% of its natural gas. Russia also annually supplies about 27% of the oil imported by the bloc from 27 countries. Together, this trade brings in tens of billions of dollars a year for Russia, helping to finance President Vladimir Putin’s military efforts.
“The only way we can’t be pressured… is to stop being his buyer of our major energy resources,” Timmermans told the European Parliament’s environment committee on Monday. “The only way to achieve this is to accelerate our transition to renewable energy.”
Russia’s massive energy exports have so far been limited by unprecedented sanctions imposed by the West in response to Putin’s decision to order his troops to invade Ukraine. But some traders and oil companies are already avoiding its crude, and US officials are debating an import ban as Russia continues its hostilities.
EU leaders have made it clear this week that the bloc cannot yet join the United States in banning Russian oil because of the impact it will have on households and businesses already grappling with record fuel and heating prices.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that oil and gas were deliberately excluded from previous rounds of sanctions because of their “critical importance” to citizens’ lives. Other EU member states, including Hungary and the Netherlands, also oppose the ban.
But Europe knows it needs to act quickly to reduce Moscow’s ability to use energy as a weapon in the escalating economic war unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday that Russia could stop gas supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in response to Scholz’s blocking of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
“In connection with the unfounded accusations against Russia… and the imposition of a ban on Nord Stream 2, we have every right to make a mirror decision and impose an embargo on gas transportation through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which is currently loaded at the maximum level 100%,” Novak said in a televised address.
On Monday, Timmermans said EU countries need to produce more of their own energy through investment in solar, offshore wind, hydrogen and biomethane. They also need to do more to reduce energy consumption through building upgrades.
“We must help our citizens who are suffering too much due to high energy prices. We also need to make sure we are ready for next winter,” he said.
The International Energy Agency said last week that Europe could significantly reduce Russian gas imports during the year, while speeding up the transition to clean energy in a “safe and affordable way.”
“No one else has any illusions. Russia’s use of its natural gas resources as an economic and political weapon shows that Europe needs to act quickly to be prepared to face significant uncertainty about Russian gas supplies next winter,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
Europe should not sign new gas contracts with Russia, maximize supplies from other countries, accelerate the deployment of solar and wind energy, make the most of existing low-emission energy sources such as nuclear and renewables, and scale up energy efficiency measures in homes and houses. businesses, the agency said.
“Together, these steps could reduce Russian gas imports to the EU by more than 50 billion cubic meters, or more than a third, within a year,” the IEA calculated.
– Angela Dewan of CNN, Anna Stewart, Boglarka Kostolani and Inke Kappeler contributed to this article.