International Energy Agency Russian gas warning as Europe should prepare for a total cut-off of Russian gas in winter, the International Energy Agency warns.
Europe has been preparing for months, since the invasion of Ukraine, to become less dependent on Russian fossil fuels, starting with gas, but these measures may not be enough and require more steps: "Europe should be prepared in case the Russian gas is completely cut off," says the director of the International Energy Agency.
"The closer we get to winter, the more we understand Russia's intentions.
The cuts are aimed at preventing Europe from filling up the deposits and increasing Russia's influence in the winter months," Fatih Birol explains in an interview to the Financial Times.
In the last week, Russia has decided to reduce gas supplies to European countries — to gain influence or advantage in the war, in what may be a precursor of new cuts, according to Birol-, while these have adopted emergency measures to limit demand, such as the ignition of old coal-fired power plants - something "temporary" and justified by the crisis, he believes.
International Energy Agency Russian gas warning
In March, the European Commission outlined a plan to "make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels long before 2030, starting with gas", with which they proposed diversifying gas supplies, accelerating the deployment of renewable gases, and replacing gas in heating and electricity generation to reduce the demand for Russian gas in the EU by two thirds before the end of 2022.
Even, at the end of May, the EU Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, assured the FT that they were preparing "contingency plans in case a total interruption came" this year.
All the measures taken so far — which have reduced dependence from the previous 40% to 20% of the total supply, according to ICIS -, however, may not be enough in the face of a complete cut of Russian gas imports, so the states should do everything possible to preserve supplies now and ensure that the storage can be filled before this winter, Birol argues.
International Energy Agency Russian gas warning statement
"I think there will be more and deeper demand measures [by European governments] as winter approaches," declares the IEA director, which includes rationing as a real possibility.
Several European countries (such as Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark) have embarked on emergency plans to preserve gas supplies.
As Bloomberg reports this Tuesday, 21, Berlin would already be analysing moving to the "alarm" phase, the second of the three stages, which could mean a change in the law that would allow energy companies to transfer cost increases to households and companies and turn on more coal plants.
International Energy Agency Russian gas warning definition
What is the role of the International Energy Agency?
It promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy in all its forms, including bioenergy and geothermal, hydroelectric, ocean, solar and wind energy, to ensure sustainable development, access to energy, energy security, economic growth with low.
