In response to Russia’s aggression and soaring fossil prices, most EU Member States have announced significant increases in renewables deployment, while scaling down plans for fossil fuels.

Russia’s aggression and corresponding volatility in global electricity prices has underlined the need to phase out fossil fuels and accelerate decarbonization. The electricity transition is not solely an issue of climate concerns, but also one of ensuring stable supplies of energy for European households and businesses. This is especially obvious for the biggest importers of Russian fuels, with Germany, Italy and the Netherlands scaling up wind and solar ambitions, France subsidising housing insulation, and others ramping up heat pump installations and electrifying transport.

These national policies are systematised under the European Commission’s REPowerEU proposal, which increases the renewable energy target from 32% to 45% by 2030 and aims for a 13% reduction of energy consumption by the same date compared to the former 9%.

Europe is responding to a new geopolitical environment, paving the path for governments worldwide.