Bulgaria has threatened not to support European Union’s new set of sanctions against Russia if the Balkan country does not get a derogation from the proposed ban on buying Russian oil, Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev said late on Sunday. European Union governments moved closer on Sunday towards agreeing on …
Read More »Italy in Trouble if Russia soon Curbs Gas Supplies
Italy would be in trouble if Russia decided to curb its gas supplies to the country in the next few months, Ecological Transition minister Roberto Cingolani told Festival Città Impresa in an interview on Sunday. Italy currently imports about 29 billion cubic metres of gas per year from Russia. If …
Read More »Europe should Dream Big and Start the Gas Exit Now
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put the European energy and climate policies through their most difficult test so far. The spike in energy prices aggravated by the slow pace of energy transition in Europe and the excessive reliance on Russian fossil fuel imports have demonstrated the need for a …
Read More »Italy Eyes Japan for Further Renewable Energy Cooperation
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi recalled the importance of boosting the industrial partnership between Italy and Japan, particularly in the renewable energies sector, at a press conference at Palazzo Chigi after a bilateral meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. In an attempt to curb energy reliance from Moscow …
Read More »German Inflation Hits 40-Year Record, Fuelled by High Energy Prices
Inflation in Germany rose at its fastest pace in four decades, data published Thursday (28 April) showed, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up energy prices. Consumer prices were 7.4% higher in April compared to a year ago, according to the federal statistics agency Destatis. In March, the corresponding figure …
Read More »Exxon Mobil may Completely Withdraw from Russia by 24 June
Exxon Mobil Corp is considering a complete withdrawal from Russia by 24 June, two sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Thursday (21 April), following the US oil major’s earlier decision to exit all operations in the country. Exxon Mobil has not provided a timetable for the withdrawal but …
Read More »OPEC Tells EU It’s not Possible to Replace Potential Russian Oil Supply Loss
OPEC told the European Union on Monday (11 April) that current and future sanctions on Russia could create one of the worst ever oil supply shocks and it would be impossible to replace those volumes, and signalled it would not pump more. European Union officials held talks in Vienna with …
Read More »EU Bets on Green Gases and Electricity to Break away from Russian Fossil Fuels
Faced with high energy prices and the urgent need to break away from Russian fossil fuels, the European Commission is doubling down on the roll-out of renewables and energy efficiency measures. The war in Ukraine has led to a monumental shift in EU climate policy. Within weeks of the invasion, …
Read More »Germany Reactivates Coal Power Plants amid Russian Gas Supply Threats
As Germany closes its last nuclear reactors, it is also reactivating old coal power plants to ensure electricity supply security amid Russian threats to turn off the gas tap. Germany’s attempt to simultaneously phase out nuclear and coal power just got significantly more complicated. Once envisaged as a transition fuel …
Read More »Germany Signs Initial Contract to Build First LNG Terminal
The German state bank KfW and the Dutch utility Gasunie have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the construction of the first LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel, Germany. Citing the important role of gas as a transition fuel, Germany’s Minister for Energy and Climate Protection Habeck said the goal was …
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