Europe’s Energy Plan Isn’t Nearly Ambitious Enough
Facing a long winter without Russian gas, the EU’s emergency proposals are nowhere near adequate. Here’s a better approach.
Running on empty.
Photographer: Stefan Sauer/Getty
By all indications, Russian President Vladimir Putin is weaponizing energy exports to divide Europe and undermine its support for Ukraine. The European Union’s response this week is unlikely to change his calculations. Time is running out to come up with a better solution.
Russia’s state-owned Gazprom PJSC has slashed gas flows to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20% of normal capacity, blaming maintenance issues. As the war drags on, a total cutoff of gas remains a live possibility. That would pose a serious risk to Europe’s economy and could potentially deprive millions of people of winter heating. Even if the EU manages to store 90% of its gas capacity in advance, according to the International Energy Agency, it may still face severe disruptions.