Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 massively escalates its illegal war of aggression that began in 2014 and that has unleashed terrible suffering on the Ukrainian people. The war also presents a historical turning point for European energy and security policy as it casts a harsh spotlight on the EU’s current reliance on Russian fossil gas imports.
On 11 March 2022, EU heads of state agreed to phase out EU dependency on Russian fossil fuel imports as soon as possible. To this end, the European Commission will prepare a “RePowerEU” plan by the end of May 2022.
First ideas on RePowerEU give little consideration to reducing fossil gas demand and remain vague on scaling renewable energies. This is regrettable, as actions to meet EU climate targets also reduce fossil gas consumption, and are therefore worth taking, no matter what the future may hold.
The fifteen priority actions on energy efficiency and on renewables developed in this report should thus be at the heart of Europe’s efforts to regain its energy sovereignty.
