Soaring energy prices since last autumn, followed by Russia’s unjustified aggression on Ukraine, have put the European energy market to a test. If the ambitious objectives of the European Green Deal were to be maintained, Europe needed a plan to manage tight global energy supply, rising inflation and insecurities that accompany a military conflict within close proximity. Above all, shedding the dependence on Russian energy imports has become a top priority.
Drawing on a communication of March 2022, the European Commission published on 18 May 2022 the REPowerEU plan, presenting a series of measures to phase out EU’s dependence on Russian energy well before 2030, fast-forward the green transition and increase the resilience of the EU’s energy system. Besides contributing to the EU’s climate objectives, these three dimensions will help lower energy prices over time and reduce import dependency.
REPowerEU is a holistic set of policy tools and actions to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy sources and promote energy savings. Due to its scope and scale, the plan’s implementation also relies on the EU’s work with trusted international energy partners and on smart investments to develop new renewable energy infrastructure.
Ending import of Russian fossil fuels
The Commission has adopted six sanction packages of restriction measures against Russia since the aggressions in Ukraine started, and the last one included a complete import ban on all Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products. Oil accounts for almost 35% of the EU’s energy mix and 97% of it is imported. In 2021, the EU imported €48 billion worth of crude oil and €23 billion of refined oil products only from Russia.
Ending the EU’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels will require a massive scale-up of renewables, faster electrification and replacement of fossil-based heat and fuel in industry, buildings and transport. Solar is already now the fastest growing source of energy in the EU. With a new, dedicated EU solar strategy – which was launched with the REPowerEU package –, the Commission proposes an increased target of over 320 GW of solar photovoltaic newly installed by 2025 (over twice today's level) and almost 600 GW by 2030.
To tackle slow and complex renewables permitting processes and bottlenecks, the Commission presented a Recommendation on permitting in March, highlighting measures at EU countries’ disposal to streamline procedures, facilitate power purchase and empower citizens. A rapid roll-out of solar and wind energy projects, combined with a faster hydrogen deployment, will allow to save around 50 billion cubic metres of gas imports.
Beyond investing in and speeding up renewables, it is equally important to diversify the EU’s energy supply. The EU is the biggest importer of natural gas in the world; about a quarter of all the energy the EU uses is natural gas and only 10% of it is met by domestic production. In 2021 the EU imported 41% of the gas needed (beyond liquefied natural gas) from Russia, 24% from Norway and 11% from Algeria.
To compensate for the fossil fuels no longer bought from Russia, the EU is turning to other international and reliable partners, looking to increase the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US, Australia and Japan, among others. The EU also aims to conclude trilateral agreements with Egypt and Israel before summer. LNG is natural gas, predominantly methane, converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport. When it reaches its final destination, it is usually re-gasified and distributed through gas networks, just like gas from pipelines. LNG imports made up 20% of total extra-EU gas imports in 2021. In the first five months of 2022, owing to increasing LNG imports to the EU, the share of LNG grew to more than one third of the total extra-EU gas imports.
In addition to being an insurance policy against threats to the security of gas supply, LNG can contribute to the fight against climate change. It produces up to 80 % less emissions than fuel oil and is a good solution for air pollution in the maritime sector, as it allows meeting the standards of the International Maritime Organization on maritime emissions, especially for sulfur and nitrogen oxides and the global sulphur cap (0.50% in 2020).
EU external energy engagement strategy
Building long-lasting international partnerships, promoting the EU clean energy industries and accelerating the clean energy transition is at the core of the EU external engagement energy strategy, launched alongside the REPowerEU package. It aims to strengthen the EU's energy security, resilience and autonomy while promoting broader energy partnerships with global partners. These will combine gas cooperation with long-term energy cooperation on hydrogen, renewable gases (including biomethane) and other green energy sources.
Dependence on Russian energy sources differs across EU countries, as they have different energy mixes and demands. Taking this into consideration, the Commission and EU countries established in April an EU energy platform, which will play a key role in pooling demand, coordinating infrastructure use, negotiating with international partners and preparing for joint gas and hydrogen purchases. The platform, which is also open to Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, will also work through regional task forces that will identify needs and diversification of supply options and coordinate on contractual issues. The first regional task force was launched on 5 May at a ministerial meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, in coordination with neighbours in South-East Europe.
The EU will aim to ensure that additional gas supplies from existing and new gas suppliers are coupled with targeted actions to tackle methane leaks and to address venting and flaring, creating additional liquidity on global markets, while ensuring significant climate benefits.
The external energy policy also foresees the creation of hydrogen partnerships with EU neighbours and other partner countries to facilitate the import of 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030, compensating for the gas no longer imported from Russia. It also envisages three major hydrogen import corridors from the North Sea region (Norway and United Kingdom), the Southern Mediterranean region and Ukraine, and the development of a Global European Hydrogen Facility.
Moving away from Russian energy supply, the EU will also prioritise energy savings and efficiency, aiming to achieve a 5% reduction in oil and gas demand in the short term that is expected to decrease the price and demand pressure on the global energy markets. The EU will also focus on reducing its energy consumption. The “Playing my part” campaign, launched in April in cooperation with the International Energy Agency (IEA), is an example of such energy saving action to encourage citizens to reduce their energy use and save money.
The EU will continue and reinforce its collaboration with international organisations and fora such as G7, G20, OPEC, EURATOM and the IEA to ensure well-functioning global energy markets and a just and clean energy transition.
Related links
Details
- Publication date
- 14 June 2022
- Author
- Directorate-General for Energy
- Location
- Brussels