Rebecca Harms, the president of The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, has criticised the Energy Union project as outdated. In an interview with EurActiv Poland, she talks about alternatives for the project and their impact on Russia as well as climate change.

„The concept of a European Energy Union is not new, yet the recent conflict with Russia gave it a new impetus. Russia conducts power politics based on its energy resources. Hence for very good reason the current proposal focuses on energy security and the diversification of supply sources.

Yet, we will only be able to overcome our current dependency on Russia and other countries, such as Saudi Arabia or Iran, if we reduce our energy consumption. Look for example at gas consumption: If we improve heating and thermal efficiency, our gas consumption would be enormously reduced”, says Harms.

She added that the project „is weak in terms of the details on how to really improve energy efficiency.”
„Tusk should take global warming more seriously. Increasing both energy efficiency and the share of renewables would make an enormous contribution to the fight against climate change.

Yet, the proposed Energy Union envisions new pipelines and new LNG terminals. This would improve the ways in which the EU can get natural gas, but the only way to really reduce our energy dependency on states such as Russia is to decrease our energy consumption and to complete the shift towards renewables”, Harms says.

She added that not all of the EU countries are 100% dependent on gas imports.

„It is high time to invest in energy saving and a comprehensive energy strategy. All experts agree that improving energy efficiency is the biggest source of energy we have, but nobody is going for it!

Not only does reducing consumption protect the climate, it also allows countries to save money, which then can be invested in job creation. The European Commission says that improving energy efficiency can mean millions of new jobs”, Harms said.