EU Commission to unveil Russian fossil fuel phase-out plans: Von Der Leyen

(London, United Kingdom) — The EU Commission is expected to unveil plans to phase out fossil fuels imports from Russia next month, the IEA’s summit on the future of energy security heard from the Commission’s president Ursula von Der Leyen on Thursday.

In “two weeks” the Commission “will present a roadmap with concrete measures to phase out all imports of Russian fossil fuels so that we no longer rely on a hostile power for our energy supply,” Von Der Leyen said.

EU reliance on Russian gas has decreased from 45% before the Ukraine War to 18% of total gas imports currently.

Imports of Russian coal have already been phased out, with Russian oil imports greatly reduced.

This “cut funding for Russia’s economy and strengthened our own energy security.”

While diversification of gas supplies, including more reliance on Norwegian pipeline imports and U.S. LNG, has addressed immediate needs, Europe’s security of supply should hinge primarily on homegrown low-carbon energy, amid plans to invest 100 billion euros to boost European clean energy manufacturing, she added.

As part of that, it is progressing electricity interconnection plans to bring North Sea wind and Spanish solar power to pockets of industrial demand across Europe.

Other key projects include a power link between Tunisia and Italy, and between Egypt and Greece.

Meanwhile, the UK is stepping up its renewable ambitions through the creation of a new £300 million supply chain investment fund to support the domestic offshore wind industry, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced.

Stressing that the UK was determined to leverage the opportunities presented by clean energy technologies, he said “our message is simple, build it in Britain.”

In addition, on Thursday the British government  finalised a deal with Italian oil major Eni for the award of a £2 billion supply contract for the HYNet carbon capture and storage project, he said.

He said that while “fossil fuels will be part of the energy mix for decades to come” renewables, as well as international cooperation, are essential for energy security.

Countries need to “act together to seize the opportunity of the clean energy transition,” he said, adding that “homegrown clean energy is our way to take back control and bring down bills for the long-term” in the UK.

“We need holistic approaches, whether it is securing energy supply, bringing down the costs of decarbonisation or fighting climate change,” the EU commissioner for energy and housing, Dan Jorgensen said.

“If you focus on only one issue you lose the ability to address the other.”

He said Europe was deploying new renewable energy at a fast rate which, together with integration of energy systems, is leading to savings of 60 billion euros per year.

Meanwhile, the world’s energy sector “is seeing the emergence of new risks from weather and cyberattacks,” the Secretary General of the International Energy Forum, Jassim Alshirawi said.

“The transition is progressing at an uneven speed,” he added, leading to a need to adapt storage requirements and gas reserve mechanisms.

Moreover, ensuring investment access for all sources of energy including  oil and gas is essential for energy security, he said.

(Writing by Beatrice Bedeschi; editing by Sophie Davies)