On Tuesday, March 8, US President Joe Biden imposed an immediate and complete embargo on imports of Russian fossil fuels. Britain and the EU have also announced planned measures to reduce oil, gas and coal imports from Russia.
According to the White House statement, the ban on the imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal to the United States “is significant action with widespread bipartisan support that will further deprive President Putin of the economic resources he uses to continue his needless war of choice”.
The UK will also gradually suspend imports of Russian oil and petroleum products by the end of 2022. This was announced by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of the United Kingdom Kwasi Quarteng. Britain, unlike most European countries, is less dependent on Russian fossil fuels. But Russian supplies still account for 8% of total oil imports to Britain, and 18% of British diesel fuel comes from Russia. At the same time, the UK is not dependent on Russian natural gas, as it accounts for only 4% of total imports, and intends to immediately and completely abandon it.
On Thursday, March 10, EU leaders will discuss a plan to end the continent’s energy dependence on Russia at a summit in France. This is not yet fully in line with calls from Kyiv and Washington for an immediate and complete withdrawal from Moscow as a supplier of energy resources. The 27 European Union leaders are due to meet for two days in Versailles on March 10-11 to agree on “phasing out dependence on Russian imports of gas, oil and coal”.
The European Commission has presented a plan to completely abandon Russian fossil fuels by 2030. As announced, the REPowerEU Plan provide for a number of measures that will accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources already this year.
“Renewables give us the freedom to choose an energy source that is clean, cheap, reliable, and ours. And, instead of continuing to fund fossil fuel imports and fund Russian oligarchs, renewables create new jobs here in Europe. With the plan we outline today, the EU can end its dependence on Russian gas and repower Europe”, – said Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans at a press conference on Tuesday.
” By the end of this year, we can replace 100 bcm of gas imports from Russia. That is two-thirds of what we import from them. This will end our over-dependency and give us much needed room to maneuver. Two thirds by the end of this year”, – said Frans Timmermans.
Germany, as the EU’s largest economy and a powerful exporter of industrial products, is particularly dependent on energy supplies from Russia. Italy, Hungary, Finland the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia also rely heavily on Russian oil and gas.