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If the most important components of the European proposal are carried out, Russia’s conflict in Ukraine may have an enormous, albeit unwitting, consequence: It may hasten Europe’s transition away from fossil fuels.
“The developments within the power markets during the last months have underscored the need to speed up the clear power transition and scale back completely our dependence on imports of pure fuel,” the draft doc states. “Diversifying provides, frontloading renewable power and enhancing power effectivity is the most effective insurance coverage towards value shocks.”
To scale back Europe’s reliance on Russia, a number of new infrastructure is being constructed to absorb liquefied fuel from america and elsewhere. In Europe, as my colleagues Liz Alderman and Stanley Reed informed me not too long ago, L.N.G. import terminals are already being expanded in Belgium and Poland; a brand new one was not too long ago authorised in Greece with European Union funding; Germany this week fast-tracked the development of two new import terminals.
In america, my colleague Clifford Krauss famous, a brand new L.N.G. export facility is scheduled to begin working in Calcasieu Go, La., this 12 months; expansions are underway in two Texas export services; and a further 10 export initiatives are into account. Practically 1 / 4 of American L.N.G. exports went to Europe in 2021. Over the previous couple of months, Europe has been the highest vacation spot for U.S. exports.
So, may Europe survive with out Russian fuel subsequent winter?
A latest evaluation by Bruegel, a suppose tank primarily based in Brussels, suggests it may, however not with out lowering demand, altering rules and spending much more cash. Some Europeans appear to be taking motion to guard themselves. Electrical warmth pumps, one of the crucial cost-effective methods to switch gas-fired boilers, unfold swiftly in Europe for the primary time in 2021, although nowhere as quick as is critical, as Jan Rosenow, a director on the Regulatory Help Challenge, explained in a Twitter thread this week.
Britain, in the meantime, has mentioned it intends to proceed drilling in its a part of the North Sea, however its secretary for enterprise and power, Kwasi Kwarteng, said this week that his nation’s power safety would finally have to return from renewables, which in Britain consists of nuclear energy.
“It will be full insanity to show off our home supply of fuel,” he mentioned on Twitter. “However the long-term answer is apparent: Gasoline is costlier than renewable power, so we have to transfer away from fuel.”
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