Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has supercharged Europe’s green transition

‘Let’s dash into renewable energy at lightning speed’ European Green Deal commissioner, Frans Timmermans has said – with Russia’s actions providing fresh impetus, writes Saphora Smith

Moscow’s actions expose the need to shift to renewables, experts and politicians say (AFP via Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has had widespread consequences – not least having supercharged European Union efforts to shift towards renewable energy.

“Let’s dash into renewable energy at lightning speed,” said European Green Deal Commissioner, Frans Timmermans announcing Europe’s plans to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. “Putin’s war in Ukraine demonstrates the urgency of accelerating our clean energy transition.”

The European Union had already committed to a green transition because of the climate crisis, but energy security has now spelled out the need to go even faster. The proposal earlier this week aims to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, starting with gas, and to reduce EU demand for Russian gas by two thirds before the end of the year.

“This communication elevates progress on renewable energy and efficiency to a matter of energy security,” said Lisa Fischer, a programme leader at E3G,  an independent climate change think tank. “This may transform politics – geopolitical interests will no longer come at the expense of climate policy, but climate policy as a response to geopolitical challenges.”

For many climate policy experts that development could not come soon enough.

“Geopolitics and climate transitions are one and the same today,” said Olivia Lazard, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe.

The European Union has said the answer to ensure greater energy resilience is to invest in renewables, while in the meantime diversifying gas supplies and boosting underground gas storage to at least 90 per cent across the EU by 1 October

The strategy includes importing more gas from non-Russian suppliers, boosting volumes of biomethane and renewable hydrogen production and imports, and reducing the use of fossil fuels in homes, buildings and industry more quickly by increasing energy efficiency, renewables and electrification. The European Commission also provided additional guidance to member states to help consumers and businesses cope with rising energy prices.

“The quicker we switch to renewables and hydrogen, combined with more energy efficiency, the quicker we will be truly independent and master our energy system,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The European Union was not the only place to announce changes in energy policy Tuesday. The UK announced it will phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.  The announcement was coordinated with a similar ban by US president Joe Biden.

The business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said this would give the market, businesses and supply chains “more than enough time” to replace Russian imports – which make up 8 per cent of UK demand.

Anthony Browne, Conservative chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment, said the Ukraine crisis had shown that net zero was a matter of the UK’s national security.

“One of the strong arguments for net zero, apart from climate change, is national security,” Browne told the Press Association. “It’s important for us not to be dependent on energy supplies from countries that don’t share our values and may not always be friends.”

However, the UK is significantly less reliant on Russian fossil fuels than the European Union.  The EU imports 90 percent of its gas consumption, with Russia providing around 45 percent of those imports and some countries like Germany particularly reliant. Russia also accounts for around 25 percent of oil imports and 45 percent of coal imports.

“The case for a rapid clean energy transition has never been stronger and clearer,” the European Commission said in a statement.

The proposal is not a done deal, however, and will need to be implemented by European member states.

“It is largely unclear whether they will do so and how such measures can be financed,” said Michael Pahle, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Pahle also said there is a risk that if scaled-up targets end up not being met, failure could be attributed to overly ambitious climate policy, rather than energy security.

Nevertheless, some experts believe it could be a turning point integrating the green transition with broader policies.

Germany has already made a bold step, halting approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia after Putin formally recognised the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

This year could be “remembered” as “the watershed moment in which Europe truly accelerated its green transformation alongside a more integrated foreign and energy policy,” said Simone Tagliapietra, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a European think tank specialising in economics.