EU plans to pivot from Russian gas

Switch to renewables and hydrogen aims to displace demand for Russian gas well before 2030

The European Commission has proposed a plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030 as a response to Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine. Russia provided around 45pc of EU gas imports in 2021. The plan—known as RepowerEU—will seek to diversify gas supplies, speed up the rollout of renewable gases such as green hydrogen and replace gas in heating and power generation. The Commission believes it can reduce EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year. “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,” says European Commission presiden