European Union climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said the EU could revise its renewable energy targets to phase out Russian energy resources, Reuters reported.
According to the agency, the 27 EU member states have collectively agreed to cut net greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent from 1990 levels by 2030, a step towards “net-zero” emissions by 2050.
Under current plans, the EU intends to increase the share of renewable energy sources to 40 percent by 2030. However, according to Timmermans, the bloc can now achieve “a higher percentage of renewable energy” by the same date.
“In the next couple of weeks, we will be working on an initiative that I call Repower EU. As part of this initiative, we want to accelerate the energy transition. Therefore, in this context, we can review our goals. Such a review will mean a higher percentage of renewable energy by 2030 “, Timmermans said, declining to give figures of possible new targets.
Egypt, which will host the COP27 climate conference in November and re-exports Israeli gas from liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on its Mediterranean coast, could help the EU diversify gas imports, Timmermans added.
“If we can get other LNG in the region and see what volumes are available from Israel, that might be a good approach. The essence of what I am proposing is a long-term strategic relationship that starts with LNG and then moves quickly to renewable energy sources, especially for hydrogen,” he concluded.
At the end of March, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his decision to sell natural gas to European countries and the US for Russian rubles.
The Russian leader stressed that Russia would continue to supply natural gas following the volumes and pricing principles fixed in the contracts concluded earlier.
Later, the G7 countries refused to pay for Russian gas and oil in rubles. G7 ministers decided to dismiss Russia’s demand as “one-sided and in clear violation of existing treaties” and began to reduce dependence on Russian energy. In addition, the EU countries have approved an embargo on Russian coal.