Speaking in Brussels after the deal on Friday, the US president said Vladimir Putin had taken advantage of Russia’s position as Europe’s main gas supplier to “force and manipulate its neighbors” and that revenue from gas sales and oil “drive his war machine” during the invasion of Ukraine. He said cooperation with the EU would remove Putin from the weapon, ending Europe’s dependence on Russian energy before the end of the decade. The proposals also aim to reduce overall gas use in Europe by focusing on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources in order to meet climate targets. Russia supplied about 155 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Europe last year and typically accounts for about 40% of the continent’s demand. The EU has already said it hopes to reduce Russian imports by two-thirds by the end of the year, importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from other countries and promoting renewable energy projects and energy efficiency measures. Under the agreement with Biden, the US will help in the short term by delivering increased LNG shipments to Europe, with 15 billion cubic meters to be added this year. That means 37 billion cubic meters of deliveries, while Europe has committed a possible 50 billion cubic meters a year to additional imports as part of a plan to unblock Russian gas supplies by the end of the decade. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “This quantity already replaces one third of the Russian gas that goes to Europe today. “Therefore, we are well on our way now to differentiate ourselves away from Russian gas and to our friends and partners, reliable and trustworthy suppliers.” At the same time, the EU will seek to maintain climate targets by supplying clean gas infrastructure with clean energy and reducing methane leaks that could worsen global warming. A combination of energy efficiency savings in homes and wind and solar projects could reduce Europe’s gas demand by 20 billion centimeters. Biden said such a move was not only “morally right”, but “will put us on a stronger strategic footing”. Asked how the US would increase its LNG supply as producers were already operating at full momentum, a senior White House official said the plan would include “exchanges” with international partners, particularly in Asia, to release gas during during the winter of Europe. Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk The initiative will require Europe to build new terminals for LNG imports, with the current infrastructure unable to cope with the significant increase in imports. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has no LNG terminals, but said on Friday that its goal is to end its dependence on Russian gas by 2024. New pipelines will also be needed for the future, so that they can be retrofitted to transport hydrogen. “We aim to reduce and get rid of this dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” said Von Der Leyen.
