How Europe can reduce dependence on Russian gas, according to IEA

Europe’s dependence on natural gas from Russia has given Vladimir Putin leverage over the European Union, making it hard to impose energy sanctions on the country as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.

Turning off the spigot to Russian natural gas is going to be hard to do quickly, though. That’s both because the EU is so dependent on it, and because the EU has committed to limit its greenhouse gas emissions.

The EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia in 2021, which was almost half (45%) of the gas the EU imported and almost 40% of the total amount of gas it used. Switching from burning natural gas to burning coal is a quick fix that is technically possible, but it’s not going to help the EU achieve its climate goals.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), an energy policy organization with members from 31 national governments, believes it has a better way.

The organization recently released a plan for Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas by one-third in one year while still adhering to the European Green Deal, an EU agreement to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030.

The IEA’s drawdown, aptly named “A 10-Point Plan to Reduce the European Union’s Reliance on Russian Natural Gas,” is a collection of actions that will diversify Europe’s energy supply, accelerate its move towards renewables and focus on energy efficiency.

“Nobody is under any illusions anymore. Russia’s use of its natural gas resources as an economic and political weapon show Europe needs to act quickly to be ready to face considerable uncertainty over Russian gas supplies next winter,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a written statement announcing the plan.

Here’s a summary of the ten recommendations:

Do not renew gas supply contracts with Russia. Currently, the European Union has a contract with Gazprom, a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation, for more than 15 billion cubic meters of gas imports per year. That contract is due to expire at the end of 2022. The EU should let that and other gas import contracts expire.

Replace expired natural gas from Russia with new natural gas contracts from other sources. Domestic production of natural gas and imports from non-Russian sources, including from Azerbaijan and Norway, are set to increase over the coming year by as much as 10 billion cubic meters compared to 2021, which will help matters. However, the IEA also says EU should increase its importing of liquid natural gas (LNG), which is natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state at about -260° Fahrenheit so it can more easily be transported in ships or trucks.

The IEA also recommends the EU increase its…