A gas drilling rig on the Gazprom PJSC Chayandinskoye oil, gas and condensate field, in the Lensk district of the Sakha Republic, Russia.Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans called on member states to increase investment in renewable energy and eventually wean the continent off Russian gas.
Tensions between the bloc and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been escalating amid accusations that Gazprom PJSC, Russia’s state-owned energy company, isn’t doing more to fill up Europe’s depleted stocks of gas.
The threat of a Ukrainian invasion is also giving rise to fears that gas prices could spiral even higher, tightening the energy squeeze on EU citizens.
“If we really want to stop long-term making Putin very rich, we have to invest in renewables and we need to do it quickly,” Timmermans said Friday at an informal meeting of EU energy and environment ministers in Amiens, France.
“If you really want to make sure that you can provide stable, affordable energy to your citizens, renewables is the answer,” he said.
Rising energy prices pose a major challenge to the EU’s plans to transition the region’s economy away from a reliance on fossil fuels. Some member states, including Poland, argue that the Green Deal is one of the factors behind the increase.
Timmermans said that in one country, consumers had received energy bills that blamed the EU for the price rise. Bloomberg - link - John Ainger - link - more like this (Russia) - link - more like this - link
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