Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Tuesday, the European Commission rejected claims that its commitment to significantly increase US fossil fuel imports within three years would conflict with the bloc’s objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
On Sunday, the U.S. and EU reached a framework trade agreement. This deal involves a 15% U.S. tariff on most EU goods. It also commits the EU to spend $250 billion each year on U.S. energy imports such as oil, liquefied natural gas, and nuclear technology over the next three years.
“This agreement does not contradict our medium- to long-term decarbonisation objectives or targets at all,”
EU spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen briefed journalists of the commitment to buy $750 billion of US liquefied natural gas, oil, and nuclear fuels to replace Russian energy sources.
How much US energy has the EU agreed to import?
The European Union has pledged to purchase approximately $750 billion of U.S. energy products over the next three years, or $250 billion per year. This includes U.S. oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and nuclear fuels. The commitment is all part of the larger trade and energy security arrangement with the United States that is intended to supplant Russian gas and oil supplies.
The bloc spent €375 billion on energy imports last year, including €76 billion from the U.S., meaning the bloc would have to essentially triple its US imports over the next three years, in the process shunning other providers, such as Norway, which provides cheaper gas via pipeline.
What are the EU’s goals of Carbon neutrality by 2025?
The European Union has a legally binding target for carbon neutrality to be reached by 2050, which means the EU will have in aggregate net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all Member States. This legally binding target is identified in Article 2 of the European Climate Law and sets out the objective of climate neutrality with the European Green Deal.
Net-zero emissions occur when the emissions produced are offset by the emissions removed from the atmosphere through cutting emissions, investing in clean technologies, and protecting the natural environment.
