EU hopes to reduce reliance on gas with new investment

A quarter of Europe's energy currently comes from natural gas:

 

• Nearly 40% of it was imported from Russia. As European countries move quickly to de-risk their gas supplies and increase alternative energy sources, the alternative energy sources they choose now will have a major impact on the climate.
• On the same day President Biden announced the U.S. ban on Russian oil imports, the EU executive unveiled a new plan (using heat pumps) to reduce the EU’s reliance on Russian gas.
• EU to develop plans and policies to accelerate installation of clean, efficient heat pumps to 10 million new heat pump installations over the next five years
• The near-term goal of adding heat pumps is a first step - which we hope will lead to a more ambitious EU effort to further decarbonise heating in line with global climate targets. Through the Clean Heat Forum, RMI and its partners aim to advance new EU heat pump targets

 

Expand these goals in the EU and globally

• 1: Cut Russia’s reliance on fossil fuels by two-thirds this year alone, with the goal of mitigating the near-term price shock that threatens European households and businesses.
• 2: Over the next few years, the plan aims to completely eliminate Russia’s reliance on fossil fuels “by 2030.”
• 3: Reducing or eliminating the use of fossil fuels in buildings To limit the volatility of the European market for fossil fuels, more than a quarter of total EU energy consumption is used for space and water heating, and more than 75% of heating energy in residential buildings comes from fossil fuels . Globally, the burning of fossil fuels in buildings accounts for nearly 10% of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions

  

Outlook 2030

  

• The REPowerEU program targets 10 million heat pumps to be installed over the next five years, implying a modest and highly achievable increase compared to recent sales trends. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), around 1.8 million EU households bought a heat pump in 2020
• REPowerEU Program: Key policy actions to accelerate the transition to clean thermal energy include increasing the manufacture of high-efficiency cold-climate heat pumps; investing in training programs and resources for building designers, contractors and installers; and developing pricing protections.
• The EU's new plan is a step in the right direction. We look forward to working with our partners in Europe and globally over the next few years to move away from fossil fuels and towards a clean, climate-aligned future for the buildings we live and work in.