Following the adoption of the Global Commitment for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency launched by the EU and the COP28 Presidency (see EUROPE 13306/6), the European Commission held EU Energy Days from Monday 4 to Tuesday 5 December, aimed at implementing the transition to clean energy.
In her opening address, the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, stressed “how important the priority given to energy and the energy transition was for this COP”.
She then went on to talk about the EU’s achievements in terms of energy security and accelerating the energy transition in times of crisis, as part of the REPowerEU strategy.
“We have reduced the share of Russian gas in EU imports from 45-50% to less than 10%. At the same time, in 2022, wind and solar together generated 22% of the EU’s electricity, overtaking natural gas and coal for the first time”, she pointed out.
She also welcomed the fact that the EU and its Member States had contributed €28.5 billion in funding to combat climate change from public sources and had mobilised €11.9 billion in private funding.
The challenge of developing electricity networks
During these days, Ms Simson also spoke about the development of electricity networks at the World Economic Forum’s “Scaling Clean Power and Grids for electrification” event.
“Challenges remain, and certainly the most important is the supply chain. At the moment, across Europe, when various project promoters are announcing (...) investments in offshore wind farms, it is clear that cable producers are not managing to meet ('deliver') expectations as quickly as we need”, she explained. She also underlined the challenge of licensing, which is included in the ‘Action Plan for Grids’ recently presented by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13302/8).
The challenge of energy transition in Ukraine
At a side event, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, reiterated the EU’s support for Ukraine’s energy transition and its “Build back better” approach, and was resolutely optimistic about the country’s business prospects.
Following the Russian invasion, he said he was “delighted that Ukraine is 'serving' not only its citizens, but also, for the first time, the European companies that store gas in the biggest reservoirs we have. 33 billion cubic metres”.
He also mentioned the Ukrainian Climate Office, established at the end of October, the development of the Ukrainian National Energy and Climate Plan, “which puts all the strings together”, and the fact that the EU has been able to connect the country, as well as Moldova, to the European electricity grid.
“If Ukraine can do all this in the middle of a war, in such a short space of time, it proves that it is possible (...) and there is a strong business case behind it”, he concluded. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)