Europe faces test of gas resolve

European Commission is on its way to meeting clean energy goals, but energy security concerns and higher costs may give it second thoughts

In May 2022, the European Commission published its REPowerEU plan as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the associated threat to European energy security. The strategy has three goals: to save energy, to diversify energy supplies and to accelerate the production of clean energy. Two years later, in spring 2024, the Commission was able to report that gas demand had declined by 18% between August 2022 and March 2024, a saving of 125bcm. 15% – Russia’s share of EU gas imports in 2023 Imports of Russian gas (pipeline and LNG) had dropped from 45% of overall EU imports in 2021 to only 15% in 2023, while Norway and the US have become the EU's largest gas suppliers, providing 34