The Green Tank, together with 47 other environmental organizations and think tanks, participates in the new pan-European campaign “Beyond Fossil Fuels” which aims to which aims to a fossil-free, renewables-based power sector in Europe by 2035. It build on the previous Europe Beyond Coal campaign which, since 2016, has contributed to the decarbonization or commitment to decarbonization of 23 European countries, 17 of which will do so before 2030.
As part of the new campaign, the “Freedom from Fossil Fuels” analysis was published, outlining how Europe can fully eliminate its dependence on Russian gas and coal by 2025, namely two years ahead of the EU-27 REPowerEU plan and without the need to build much of the planned new fossil gas infrastructure.
The analysis is based on assumptions contained in published reports by scientific organizations and presents 9 measures that displace Russian fossil fuels in quantities which are cumulatively equal to 107% of the corresponding quantities imported by the countries of the European continent in 2021, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the analysis, more than 70% of this reduction will come from 4 measures, namely, the increased deployment of solar photovoltaic (34.9%), onshore wind (16.5%), offshore wind (6.7%) and heat pumps (12.3%). The remaining quantities of Russian fossil fuels will be displaced through the increased energy efficiency of industrial processes (9. 1%), the energy upgrading of residential buildings (7.2%), the increasing heating efficiency in buildings (6.5%), but also changes in the energy habits of citizens such as reducing the average temperature for indoor heating (5.5%) and adopting “smart” consumption practices (8.4%).
Examples of such practices include, among others, reducing speed limits on motorways, increasing car sharing, reducing meat consumption, reducing food waste, shifting the use of energy-intensive electrical appliances away from peak hours, reducing water temperature in public swimming pools and public buildings, turning off lights more often.
The new “Beyond Fossil Fuels” campaign was launched on Tuesday 28 March 2023.
The full text of the “Freedom from Fossil Fuels” analysis is available here in English.
