The European Commission announced on Tuesday a plan to make the European Union independent from Russian fossil fuels "well before 2030." The EU intends to start with diversifying gas supplies, speeding up the roll-out of renewable gases and replacing gas in heating and power generation, which can "reduce EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year."
The Commission is also looking into options to support companies affected by high energy prices. "We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us... 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. I will be discussing the Commission's ideas with European leaders at Versailles later this week, and then working to swiftly implement them with my team," said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
