Flights should be banned in continental Europe and the use of cars in city centers to save energy and prevent Vladimir Putin from profiting from fossil fuel sales, activists say.
It would be possible for Europe to quickly end its dependence on oil and gas from Russia by taking tough measures, according to a report by climate adviser Mark Linas, energy analyst Rauli Partanen and energy and sustainable installations specialist Joris van Dorp.
Policies include standardization, with everyone in Europe being allowed the same minimum amount of energy to use and limiting thermostats to 18C in winter.
“The biggest problem is gas. In total, Europe imported 155 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia last year, the authors said. Critics of EU oil and gas policy say hydrocarbon sales are financing the war in Ukraine.
Even EU senior diplomat Josep Borrell said recently: “We have given Ukraine almost 1 billion euros. This may seem like a lot, but 1 billion euros is what we pay Putin every day for the energy he provides us. Since the beginning of the war, we have given him 35 billion euros [£29bn]compared to the 1 billion euros we gave Ukraine to arm itself. “
1 billion euros for Ukraine, 35 billion euros for Russia: EU top diplomat points out lack of funding – video
The report’s authors say: “We conclude that it is possible to eliminate Russian gas imports, starting immediately in Europe. This will require an unprecedented level of European solidarity, a combination of the Marshall Plan and air transport in Berlin, in order to redistribute energy around the continent as needed and to support the transition.
The International Energy Agency recently published a 10-point plan to reduce oil demand in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s member states, with proposals including subsidized public transport, lower speed limits and reduced business flights. However, the authors of the latest report from the RePlanet Research Institute say such measures would reduce demand by 2.7 million barrels a day in developed economies, which is still significantly less than Russian oil exports to Europe.
The authors say we need to go further and say they have developed how to eliminate 25% of all oil use in Europe.
“We are proposing bans on all business flights, private jets and domestic flights within Europe to save oil, as well as bans on the use of cars in cities,” they said. “This must be combined with free public transport. Although the consequences of this are not easily quantified, we believe that this could double the reduction in oil use beyond that proposed by the IEA.
To replace gas that Europe buys from Russia, the authors recommend measures, including halting the phasing out of nuclear power in Germany, Sweden and Belgium, reducing heating in 4C buildings and rapidly introducing additional solar and wind production.
These policies can be popular in Europe. A new poll by Savanta ComRes found that 41% of respondents in the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, France, Sweden and the Netherlands say they “strongly agree” that their country should stop buying Russian oil and gas immediately. . Only 6.4% strongly disagree.
Just over 40% said they would be willing to adopt energy standards to drive demand, and 52.7% said they would eat less meat to reduce demand for Ukrainian exports.
“Europe sends more than 500 million euros every day directly to the Kremlin because we continue to import huge quantities of Russian oil, gas and coal. This situation cannot continue, “the report said.
“It is morally and politically untenable for Europe to fund Putin’s military machine – by paying for the same missiles and bombs that fall on Ukrainian schools and hospitals – at the same time as it is supposed to unite to stop Putin through sanctions. There is only one solution. We must stop this flow of money that we are sending to the Kremlin by immediately stopping our imports of Russian fossil fuels.
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