Wed 06 July 2022:
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, stated on Wednesday that the 27-nation European Union must develop emergency preparations to be ready for a complete cutoff of Russian gas following the Russias war in Ukraine.
“We also need to prepare now for further disruption of gas supply and even a complete cut-off of Russian gas supply,” von der Leyen told the EU legislature in Strasbourg, France.
“It is obvious: Putin continues to use energy as a weapon. This is why the Commission is working on a European emergency plan,” she said. “We need to make sure that in case of full disruption, the gas flows towards where it is most needed. We have to provide for European solidarity.”
“And our efforts are already making a big difference,” von der Leyen said. “Since March, global LNG exports to Europe have risen by 75% compared to 2021. LNG exports from the U.S. to Europe have nearly tripled.”
In the meantime, the average monthly import of Russian pipeline gas is declining by 33% compared with last year, von der Leyen said as she called for a speedy transition toward renewable sources of energy.
“Some say, in the new security environment after Russia’s aggression, we have to slow down the green transition. This transition would come at the ‘the cost of basic security’, they say. The opposite is true. If we all do nothing but compete about limited fossil fuels, the prices will further explode and fill Putin’s war chest,” she said. “Renewables are home-grown. They give us independence from Russian fossil fuels. They are more cost-efficient. And they are cleaner.”
The EU Council decided last month to boost the amount of renewable energy sources in the bloc’s energy mix from the previous aim of 32 percent to at least 40 percent by 2030. In addition, all EU member states will be required to meet a 9 percent decrease in energy use by 2030.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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