In May 2022, the European Commission launched the REPowerEU Plan in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its use of energy resources as an economic weapon. The Plan's main objectives were to save energy, diversify energy supplies, and produce more clean energy for the EU.
Two years on, it is clear that REPowerEU has played a crucial role in safeguarding EU citizens and businesses from energy shortages, while also providing vital support to Ukraine by weakening Russia's war chest. Through joint efforts, Europe has not only made a massive cut in Russian energy imports but has also accelerated its transition to clean energy and stabilised prices.
Key achievements:
- Reducing natural gas consumption by 18% between August 2022 and March 2024
- Overcoming our dependency on Russian fossil fuels - the share of gas imports coming from Russia dropped from 45% to 15% between 2021 and 2023
- Ensuring access to secure and affordable energy
- Producing more electricity from wind and solar than from gas for the first time, since 2022
- Rapidly increasing renewable energy installation - reaching a record of almost 96 GW of new solar energy capacity installed and increasing wind capacity by 33 GW since 2022
As we move forward, it is evident that Europe is now stronger and more united than ever before. The Commission has mobilised close to 300 billion to fund the REPowerEU Plan with the Recovery and Resilience Facility at the heart of this funding. The EU is now on track to completely eliminate its reliance on Russian fossil fuels while continuing to advance the green transition and supporting Ukraine.
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