The EU accelerates plans to phase out Russian gas

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The European Union plans to quickly shrink its dependence on Russian gas and transition to clean energy. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and threats to further squeeze Europe's gas and oil supplies have made clean energy an even more important priority.

It is time for us to become more independent in our energy choices. European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans said in a March 8th statement that they should dash into renewable energy at lightning speed.

The European Commission says it can cut its gas use in half by changing how it powers buildings. Russian gas made up half of the bloc's gas supply last year. If the European Commission follows through on their goals, that will shrink to zero by the end of the decade.

Eventually gas will be phased out in homes, buildings, and the power sector. Thanks to Europe's plans to tackle climate change, those changes were already on the way. Things have to happen quickly now.

A lot of the blockers for further reduction in fossil fuel dependence will be easier to remove, according to Charles Moore, European programme lead at energy think tank.

Over the past year, heating and energy prices have gone up due to a gas shortage. The crisis was caused by a steep rise in gas demand as economies emerged from the Pandemic. Russian President Putin has made things more volatile. Russian officials threatened to shut down a major gas line that brings gas from Russia to Germany in response to sanctions from the West.

We need to become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement today that they cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens them.

The European Commission's new plan includes speeding up permitting for renewable energy projects. It wants to increase the number of rooftop solar panels this year. To power heavy industry, it wants to replace Russian gas with hydrogen fuel made from renewable energy. It wants to encourage more storage, port, and transport infrastructure for the fuel. The European Commission wants to double the production of biomethane.

Increasing energy efficiency is one of the key pillars of the EU plan. One of the easiest things Europe can do to reduce its gas consumption is to rebuild homes and buildings that use less energy. Europe needs to get ready for the next heating season without relying on Russian gas. Replacing gas heating with more efficient electric heat pumps is one of the top priorities between now and next winter. 10 million heat pumps will be given out by the European Commission over the next five years.

The US imposed an immediate ban on Russian energy imports after the European Union made plans to wean itself off fossil fuels from Russia. As the world's leading oil and gas producer, the US is less dependent on Russian fuel.

US President Joe Biden said at a press conference that they can take this step when others can't.

In the last few months, the US has increased its exports of liquified natural gas to Europe. The EU said that it will rely on imports from the US and other places to replenish gas stores. The commission wants gas storage filled to 90 percent of capacity by October in order to meet winter heating demand.

Europe's reliance on the fossil fuel could be prolonging if it turns to new places for gas. Germany recently decided to build new terminals to import liquified natural gas.

Gas-fired power plants fill in gaps in Europe's growing wind and solar energy capacity. When winds calm and sunshine fades, customers need a source of power. Fossil fuels and nuclear power plants have made up for intermittency while utility-scale batteries and other crucial forms of energy storage are still under development. Europe faces two controversial options as it builds out more renewable energy: nuclear and coal.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, the debate over what role nuclear energy will play in the world's clean energy transition was heating up. It is even more complicated now. The International Energy Agency proposed maximizing power generation from nuclear power plants as part of a 10-point plan to slash Europe's gas imports from Russia. Over the past week, Belgian and German officials have considered extending their nuclear programs.

But Germany did an about-face again today, with officials shooting down the possibility of keeping the country's few remaining power plants open beyond their previously planned shutdowns this year. Germany planned to retire them because of safety concerns. Fears of radioactive materials being released were raised by Russia's apparent attack on Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant.

Coal-fired plants could find a way to survive in the absence of nuclear power and gas. Power generation from coal in the EU has fallen in half. Coal is more attractive now that gas prices are high.

There is a risk of higher emissions in the short-term. Europe has a future in clean energy.

European history has changed in the course of weeks and days as a result of the war in Ukraine, according to Frans Timmermans.