Brussels – The US and the European Union announced on Friday a new working group that will be fully aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels in the face of the Moscow crisis. war in Ukraine. The initiative presented in Brussels by President Joe Biden and EU President Ursula von der Leyen will make the US work with partners to strive to supply Europe with an additional 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas. liquefied (LNG) only this year. dit.
The European Commission must work with EU member states to ensure they have an infrastructure capable of receiving an additional 50 billion cubic meters of LNG by at least 2030, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House. It was unclear whether this referred to additional quantities to 22 bcm of last year’s US exports to the EU.
“This initiative focuses on two basic issues, one of helping Europe reduce its dependence on Russian gas as soon as possible and, secondly, reducing Europe’s overall gas demand,” Biden said in a statement. a joint press conference with von der Leyen.
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“Today we have agreed on a joint game plan towards this goal while accelerating our progress towards a secure future of clean energy,” he said.
EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / REUTERS
The initiative comes as EU member states are fighting over calls for a bloc to ban Russia’s key energy exports to punish President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine. The Baltic countries and Poland are calling on their counterparts to pull the trigger, but others, including Germany’s economic power, are reluctant to impose a sudden break given their dependence on Russian gas imports.
Biden stressed that while the significant increase in deliveries of liquefied natural gas to the US in Europe was essential in the short and medium term, as “we need to make sure that European families can get through this winter and the ‘coming winter’, he didn’t. see how it derails efforts to wean both the U.S. and Europe fossil fuels long-term.
The crisis in Ukraine, Biden said, “presents an opportunity. It is a catalyst for accelerating” the change in gas and coal energy and toward a “zero net future” of shared American and European carbon, he said.
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“I know that eliminating Russian gas will have costs for Europe,” Biden said, “but it is the right thing to do and it will put us on a stronger strategic footing.”
Germany said on Friday that it was drastically reducing its energy purchases in Russia by the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow, with oil imports halved in June and coal deliveries in the fall.
The EU has already announced ambitious plans to reduce its Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year and eliminate them completely by the end of the decade.
As part of the working group, the EU executive said it would work with member states “to ensure, at least by 2030, the demand for approximately 50 bcm / year of additional LNG from USA “.
“This working group on energy security will be chaired by a representative of the White House and a representative of the President of the European Commission,” the leaders said on Friday. “It will work to ensure the energy security of Ukraine and the EU in preparation for next and next winter while supporting the EU’s goal of ending its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.”
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Europe faces a major task in replacing the Russian gas supply, with Moscow supplying some 150 billion cubic meters of gas each year.
The US gas supply to the EU accounted for only 6.3% during the first half of 2021, according to the bloc’s statistics agency.
As US LNG plants are already working to the fullest, Reuters news agency said analysts expect that most of the additional gas for Europe will have to come from US exports that are diverted from ‘other parts of the world or other vendors working collaboratively. with the US to help meet Europe’s needs.
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- Joe Biden
- gas prices
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