Europe’s energy security expedited post-Ukraine

ONE of the European Union’s (EU) longstanding global goals is climate action, yet since the Ukraine war began there has been a remarkable new emphasis too on delivering energy security.

Energy security is defined by the International Energy Agency as the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price. It has multiple aspects: long-term energy security mainly deals with timely investments to supply energy in line with economic developments and environmental needs; on the other hand, short-term energy security focuses on the ability of the energy system to react promptly to sudden changes in the supply-demand balance.

For Europe, embracing this agenda has seen a huge pivot away from Russian energy. For instance, Russia is no longer the main gas supplier to the EU, with its exports via pipeline to EU customers falling off a cliff from almost 146 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2021 to around 61 bcm in 2022. Moreover, in the first five months of 2023, Russian gas exports fell further to only 10 bcm.