Now that the UK and US have successively announced a ban on Russian energy sources in hopes of expanding the range of sanctions imposed on Russia, what about the EU, which is highly dependent on Russian oil, which it procures US$118 million of daily? Perhaps the solution can be found in the REPowerEU plan created by the European Commission.
The EU relies heavily on the importation of energy from Russia. About 45% of EU’s natural gas, 25% of its oil, and 45% of its coal is from Russia. However, owing to the Russian-Ukrainian war, energy prices have been skyrocketing and in turn heavily impacting utility fees for the everyday citizen. In response, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen indicated that the EU has to not only free itself from Russian oil, coal, and natural gas, but also rid itself of the reliance on a supplier that poses a palpable threat to the EU; with now being the perfect time to act, the EU is perfectly positioned to reduce the social impact of rising energy prices.
Hence, there is a pressing need to accelerate the transition towards renewable energy and hydrogen energy in order to raise energy efficiency and result in ownership of energy sources. The EU has set out a plan to reduce natural gas imports from Russia by two third by the end of the year and completely cut off fossil fuel trading with Russia by 2030, while investing capital in renewable energy to speed up the realization of net zero carbon neutrality.
Frans Timmermans, EC EVP leading the European Green Deal and the EU’s first European climate law, indicates that now is the time to address such issues as energy infrastructure fragility and energy overdependence. Timmermans hopes to transition towards renewable energy as soon as possible and believes that renewable energy is clean, affordable, and nigh-infinitely sustainable, not to mention the fact that, unlike the fossil fuel industry, the renewable energy industry yields direct benefit on local regions as opposed to other regions.
The European Commission plans to first diversify the import source of natural gases in light of the existing reliance on Russian suppliers, while also investing in the production and importation of biomethane and renewable hydrogen. In addition, the EC hopes to raise the energy efficiency of households, commercial buildings, and industrial buildings. In order to minimize the price fluctuations for next winter, the EC also suggests that the EU’s gas storage level needs to surpass 90% by October 2022.
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