Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the uncertainty caused in the energy market due to it has prompted the European Union (EU) to focus its attention on reducing its dependency on Russian energy and look for more sustainable options. The bloc looks to phase out its dependence on fossil fuels from Russia before 2030 and diversify its gas supplies via higher Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and pipeline imports from non-Russian suppliers.
“The new geopolitical and energy market reality requires us to drastically accelerate the clean energy transition and increase Europe's energy independence from unreliable suppliers and volatile fossil fuels,” the European Commission (EC) had said in a media release last month.
“Phasing out our dependence on fossil fuels from Russia can be done well before 2030. To do so, the Commission proposes to develop a REPowerEU plan that will increase the resilience of the EU-wide energy system based on two pillars: Diversifying gas supplies, via higher Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and pipeline imports from non-Russian suppliers, and larger volumes of biomethane and renewable hydrogen production and imports; and, reducing faster the use of fossil fuels in our homes, buildings, industry, and power system, by boosting energy efficiency, increasing renewables and electrification, and addressing infrastructure bottlenecks,” the EC release added.
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