REPowerEU: Commission pushes to quit Russian gas by 2027
As the war in Ukraine continues to exacerbate the energy crisis and increase tensions between Russia and Europe, the EU has unveiled a strategy to remove its reliance on Russian fossil fuels entirely.
Some €210 billion in funding is being allocated to help remove Russian gas from the energy mix by 2027 as the bloc looks to pivot in the direction of green energy in a bit to bring the goals of the EU Green Deal and Fit for 55 package closer to reality.
Read more: Greece to build new LNG terminal to wean off Russian gas
40% of Europe's gas comes from Russia, and EU leaders have been looking at other partnerships to fill this gap, including with Africa and the US, which have allowed it to import "record levels" of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The Commission has also toyed with the idea of passing a new law requiring natural gas storage in Europe to be kept to 80% capacity by November to ensure the energy crisis does not cause energy poverty over the winter period.
The REPowerEU scheme's plan is threefold. It will see pushes in energy savings, diversification of energy supplies, and accelerated roll-out of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels in homes, industry and power generation.
The bloc claims energy savings are the cheapest and easiest way to tackle the energy crisis. To this end, the energy efficiency target under the Fit for 55 package is being increased, from 9% to 13% to further ensure energy savings before the next winter.
Sectors such as freight and transport will have their own action plans in a bid to cut emissions and increase energy efficiency.
In addition, there will be "short-term behavioural changes" within the bloc to cut oil and gas demand by around 5%, to be presumably replaced in renewables for generation. Contingency measures will also be put in place in the case of severe disruption, although no information was given.
Currently, around 37% of the EU's energy generation is handled by renewables, and this new scheme should see significant strides in diversifying the bloc's energy mix.
Accelerating the development of renewables will be essential in the bloc meeting its goals, with the bloc having raised its interim emissions reductions goal from 40% to 45% by 2030, with plans still in place to completely decarbonise by 2050.
Read more: Europe only building half the wind power necessary for Green Deal
This will include a plan to have 600GW in solar energy, to be met by requiring new commercial and public buildings to have solar panels integrated and doubling the rate of heat pumps to allow for solar and geothermal generation.
In addition, the bloc plans to reduce bureaucracy regarding the development of new renewable projects. Getting the green light from new renewable projects has throttled attempts to increase the renewable share in the past, which the Commission appears to want to tackle head-on.
Also on the agenda are plans to set a target of around 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen imports by 2030, which could be used in particularly hard-to-abate sectors such as shipping, heavy industry and transport - replacing coal and lignite.
Finally, the bloc has laid out plans to increase biomethane - a synthetic analogue for natural gas - through financial incentives to increase production to 35bcm by 2030.
The Commission is set to roll out carbon contracts for difference to support the uptake of green hydrogen by industry and specific financing and will also offer guidance on setting up new renewable contracts.
It is also suggesting major players set up an industry-wide Solar Alliance and skills partnership to ensure workers are prepared to switch away from fossil fuel infrastructure while being better equipped to work with solar energy.
The €210 billion in funding for the scheme will be raised through private sector investments, EU-wide and regional funding. To support the scheme, €225 billion is already available in loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which will support member states in their goals.
€100 billion will be allocated to renewable energy projects, including hydrogen. €56 billion will go towards energy savings and heat pumps, and €29 billion will go towards power grids.
Read more: EU greenhouse gas emissions rebound to pre-pandemic levels
However, some investment in fossil fuels will be necessary for the time being, the Commission has stated. €10 billion will be invested into trans-European energy networks in a bid to interconnect the EU's gas networks and make them more resilient.
A further €2 billion will be given to countries for oil, primarily targeting Eastern European nations that are reliant on oil, but cannot get access to non-Russian supply.
- The full Commission report can be viewed here.
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