More green energy, EU plan to end energy dependency with Russia

Entrepreneurs and policymakers from the European Union countries will intensify their action plan to promote the transition to clean energy in the face of oil and gas shortages caused by the war in Ukraine and reduce their dependence on Russia, according to the Manifesto on the implementation of the European Green Deal, published in the framework of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The CEO Action Group, which represents 50 European companies with a combined annual turnover of €1.4 trillion, renewed its commitment to a 55 percent emissions reduction target by 2030. Efforts will not only focus on energy but also on food systems: whose insecurity was also exposed after the invasion of Ukraine.

For green transformation, the Manifesto specifies four drivers: innovation ecosystems; labor markets; sustainability standards; and financing, this is combined with closer collaboration between national and regional policymakers to facilitate that transformation.

“It is necessary to reduce unwanted strategic dependencies to strengthen the open strategic autonomy of the European Union. Renewable energy gives us the freedom to choose an energy source that is clean, cheap, reliable, and ours. Making our energy is the best answer. To do more in offshore wind power, in solar power, in hydrogen, in biomethane,” said Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

The private sector has a critical role to play, but it needs to be incentivized with the right policy and regulatory framework, said European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.

“The transition to net-zero can only be successful if the private sector contributes decisively. It is important that business and industry leaders deliver on the European Green Deal commitments,” he said.

“Today’s manifesto marks an important moment for the community and reinforces the need for public-private cooperation to achieve climate ambitions,” said Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum.

“The European Union is determined to end our dependence on Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible. We need to boost investment in the technologies of the future and stop funding Putin’s war machine,” warned European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans.