Quenching the thirst for energy while keeping on track in the fight against climate change is a big challenge for the EU.
Today (September 9), the EU Energy Council is holding an extraordinary session in the context of natural gas supply disruptions from Russia as the EU prepares to enter a cold winter. The energy crisis is a difficult problem that has plagued EU leaders and has also been the focus of the bloc's agenda for many months, however it remains unresolved.
The continually record-setting natural gas prices and supply disruptions have continued to worsen the situation, increasing the risk of economic recession and causing social unrest in the EU. Recently, the EU has stepped up efforts to diversify supply, reduce consumption, and increase storage; however, these measures have not yet yielded the expected results.
The risk of fuel shortages in heating and production over the upcoming winter has made the governments of some EU countries reluctant to return to using coal, one of the most polluting forms of energy production. Germany has recently reactivated coal-fired power plants to alleviate its energy thirst. Meanwhile, the Netherlands has lifted all restrictions on fossil fuel-powered power plants. Austria has also announced that it will reopen coal-fired power plants to make up for the shortage of gas.
The above solution has aroused many conflicting opinions. At the beginning of 2022, Germany announced its decision to close coal-fired power plants by 2030. The leading country in the EU pledged to increase the share of renewable energy to 80% by 2030 from 40% today.
As such, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister of Germany Robert Habeck said the return of coal has been a bitter decision while emphasising that the highest priority is that gas reserves must be filled before winter. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the measure was an emergency one designed for the short term and would not harm the country's climate goals.
However, according to some experts, the return of coal-fired energy production could cause the EU to miss its climate targets. Under the Paris Agreement on climate change, the EU has agreed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. The increased use of coal in major economies threatens to undermine commitments on climate change in the EU. The US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry noted that the increase in the use of coal in EU should only be a temporary solution.
In a recent statement, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol urged countries to avoid increasing their dependence on fossil fuels. According to Birol, fossil fuels may be necessary in the short term, but in the long term, countries should not use the current energy crisis to justify investment in fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the European Space Agency (ESA) warned that the risk from climate change is more worrying than the energy crisis in Europe.
According to the ESA, consecutive heat waves, rising temperatures, forest fires and river water reduction in recent months have clearly reflected the damage that climate change has caused to the world in general and Europe in particular. If countries do not act quickly, the world will suffer hundreds of trillions of dollars in damage this century due to climate change, noted the ESA.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has affirmed that the EU needs to use the current energy crisis to move forward, not back to fossil fuels. The current energy crisis poses many challenges, but is also an opportunity for the EU to accelerate its green transition.
