President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new “task force” on Friday with the sole purpose of reducing the continent’s reliance on Russian energy.
The news comes on the heels of a U.S. ban on all Russian energy imports and past commitments from Europe to phase out consumption of Russian natural gas. Biden additionally pledged to provide Europe with 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas in 2022.
Biden claimed the Russian energy sector is the “engine” behind Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, calling the new joint initiative a “groundbreaking” partnership to counter Russia’s offensive and advance clean energy goals.
“This initiative focuses on two core issues. One, helping Europe reduce its dependency on Russian gas as quickly as possible. Secondly, reducing Europe’s demand for gas overall,” he said during a bilateral meeting with von der Leyen in Brussels, Belgium. “The European Commission will work with member states to store gas across the continent, to build more infrastructure to receive LNG, and to take steps to increase the efficiency of gas.”
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“We’re going to have to make sure that families in Europe can get through this winter and the next while we’re building the infrastructure for a diversified, resilient, and clean energy future,” he continued. “At the same time, this crisis also presents an opportunity. It’s a catalyst, a catalyst that will drive the investments we need to double down on our clean energy goals and accelerate progress toward our mid-zero emissions future.”
Biden said the United States will supply at least 50 billion cubic meters of LNG to Europe every year through 2030.
The task force also will seek to accomplish the following goals:
- Reduce greenhouse gas “intensity” of LNG infrastructure and pipelines
- Update regulatory frameworks
- Engage key stakeholders to “reduce overall gas demand by accelerating market deployment of clean energy measures”
- Ramp up demand for “smart” energy efficiency solutions, including thermostats and heat pumps
- Expedite the approval of new renewable energy projects, including offshore wind and renewable hydrogen, to replace fossil fuel dependency
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The task force will be joint-chaired by a White House official and a representative from the European Union and will seek to diversify Europe’s LNG supplies “in alignment with climate objectives,” according to White House officials.
