Европа признает, что ей придется сжигать больше угля, поскольку она пытается отучить себя от российской энергии

The European Commission has detailed a plan to increase the EU's renewable energy capacity and reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, while acknowledging that existing coal plants may need to be used for energy production longer than initially expected.

On Wednesday, a document was published outlining the Commission's goals for implementing the REPowerEU plan, emphasizing the importance of energy savings, diversifying energy imports, and accelerating what is called the transition to clean energy.

As for fossil fuels, the situation is complex. According to Eurostat, last year Russia was the largest supplier of both crude oil and natural gas to the EU.

The EU's desire to move away from Russian hydrocarbons following the latest invasion of Ukraine means it will need to source oil and gas from other parts of the world to fill supply gaps.

The Commission stated that ensuring oil supplies would require investments of €1.5 to €2 billion. Importing sufficient amounts of liquefied natural gas and pipeline gas from other sources by 2030 is estimated to require €10 billion.

All of this is happening as the EU has stated it wants to be carbon neutral by 2050. In the medium term, it aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, which the EU calls its "Fit for 55" plan.

In this new reality, gas consumption in the EU will decline at a faster pace, limiting the role of gas as a transitional fuel, the Commission said.

However, moving away from Russian fossil fuels will also require targeted investments to ensure supply security in gas infrastructure and very limited changes to oil infrastructure, alongside large-scale investments in the EU-wide electricity grid and hydrogen backbone, it added.

At the same time, some of the existing coal capacities may also be used longer than initially expected, with the role of nuclear energy and domestic gas resources, the Commission said.

Timmermans, who is the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for the "Green Deal," emphasized the importance of finding a middle ground. "If we can really do what I am saying, then we will reduce our energy consumption combined with faster deployment of renewable energy," he said. "We will reduce our emissions even faster than before, and then, of course, we will have slightly higher emissions if people stick to coal a little longer, but we need to find a balance so that, overall, we will have slightly higher emissions if people stick to coal a little longer, but we need to find a balance so that, ultimately, we will have slightly higher emissions if people stick to coal a little longer, but we need to find a balance so that, in the end, we will, of course, have slightly higher emissions if people stick to coal a little longer."

Coal has a significant environmental impact, and Greenpeace has called it the dirtiest and most polluting way of producing energy.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Energy Information Administration lists a range of emissions from burning coal, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides.

The European Commission's announcement has drawn criticism from a number of environmental organizations.

"These plans should accelerate the transition to clean energy," but the latest strategy of the European Commission gives with one hand and takes with the other, said Ailidh Robb, a campaigner against fossil fuels in Europe for Friends of the Earth.

The so-called REPowerEU contains useful and necessary steps toward renewable solutions, but it simultaneously allows for nearly 50 fossil fuel infrastructure projects and expansions, Robb said.