subscribe Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Subscribe now
Picture: FREDDY MAVUNDA/BUSINESS DAY
Picture: FREDDY MAVUNDA/BUSINESS DAY

Brussels — The EU is on track towards its goal of ending Europe’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels within this decade, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

European countries are heading for their second winter with a shortage of  Russian gas, after Moscow slashed deliveries in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine — inflicting an energy crisis of record-high gas prices in Europe.

In a report published on Tuesday, Brussels said the EU expected imports of Russian gas to drop to 40-45-billion cubic metres in 2023, compared with 155-billion cubic metres in 2021, the year before the Ukraine war. The
27-country EU has sanctioned Russian coal and seaborne oil imports.

“The worst effects of the crisis may now be behind us, but there is no room for complacency,” said the commission.

“Energy markets remain vulnerable, fossil fuel subsidies have increased during the crisis, the inflation is still high, our critical infrastructure needs to be protected, including from sabotages,” it said.

To replace Russian gas, EU countries have hiked imports from other suppliers and, at the same time, slashed gas use. Norway has replaced Russia as the EU’s biggest pipeline gas supplier and liquefied natural gas imports have surged, led by supplies from the US.

Across the EU, gas storage caverns are 99% full, Gas Infrastructure Europe data show, giving countries a buffer against supply shocks this winter.

A record expansion of solar energy has also helped reduce Europe’s call on gas-fuelled power plants in 2023, particularly during summer months when power use for air-conditioning peaks.

But while analysts say a return to the record-high prices seen in 2022 is unlikely, global gas markets are unusually tight, posing the risk that prices could still rise in response to cold weather or further supply shocks.

The commission also warned that EU countries are still not expanding renewable energy fast enough to reach their legally binding target to get 42.5% of all energy from renewable sources by 2030, nearly double the current share.

To help speed that up, the commission published a plan to support Europe’s wind energy industry, which is struggling with high inflation and mounting competition from Chinese companies. 

Reuters

subscribe Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.