U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm tipped Europeans to work from home amid Russian oil ban
LENINGRAD REGION, RUSSIA JULY 27, 2021: An output filtration facility of a gas treatment unit at the Slavyanskaya compressor station (operated by Gazprom), the starting point of the Nord Stream 2 offshore natural gas pipeline. A gas treatment unit has been launched at the station. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will supply gas from natural gas fields in the Yamal Peninsula from where main pipelines have been laid to the Slavyanskaya compressor station. According to Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the construction of Nord Stream 2 will be completed by the end of this year. Peter Kovalev/TASS (Photo by Peter KovalevTASS via Getty Images)
By DUSABEMUNGU Ange de la Victoire
The call comes at the time World Ministers of Energy are set to meet in Paris to discuss clean Energy as main topic of the meeting.
The U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm has announced that this week, energy ministers and diplomats and business leaders are going to convene in Paris for the 2022 International Energy Agency Ministerial Meeting.
She said the meeting obviously comes at a critical moment when Russian President Putin’s unjust and horrifying assault on Ukraine has roiled global energy markets that were already struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for its oil and gas. In 2021, two-fifths of the gas Europeans burned came from Russia. And over a quarter of the EU’s imported crude oil comes from Russia. In 2021, the EU imported $108 billion (€99bn) worth of energy from Russia, by far its biggest import from the country.
The decision to ban Russian Oil and gas on European Market came as a result of Russian invasion to Ukraine.
The super power countries said Russian invasion is unjustified leading to a series of measures against the Russian Government and the business in general.
In the meantime, Ms. Jennifer noted that the U.S has coordinated a series of releases of Strategic Petroleum Reserves to help stabilize energy markets.
“And as I’ve told our fellow IEA members, the U.S. is exporting every molecule of liquified natural gas that we can to alleviate supply issues in Europe.” She said.
“The Biden administration is urging the U.S. oil and gas industry to ramp up production to meet demand and to help lower prices for working families everywhere. And at the same time, as we can see, the tragic flooding along Australia’s east coast reminds us that the threat of climate change grows larger each day.” She added.
Ms. Jennifer emphasised that the world is sending clear signals that “We have to do everything in our power to address the immediate needs of our people, but the truth is, only clean energy offers us a viable medium- and long-term solution to these kinds of challenges.”
“Clean energy is reliable. It is diverse. It is affordable. Solar, for instance, is cheaper than fossil fuels in most parts of the world. It is the key to greater energy security, to greater energy independence. It’s the answer to both climate change and autocrats who are weaponizing fossil energy.” Ms. Jennifer said.
“Of course, we understand that the transition to clean energy is not going to happen overnight, and that while it unfolds, we need to keep a sharp eye on the IEA’s legacy work around fossil energy. And that’s a big reason that we’re going to have representatives from the oil and gas industry taking part in this meeting.” She added
Given the current situation, Ms. Jennifer tipped EU on how it can reduce its Russian energy dependence adding that if some measures are taken seriously there alone would lower oil demand by about 2.7 million barrels a day within four months, which is equivalent to the oil demand of all the cars in China.
She said“…reducing the amount of oil consumed by cars through lower speed limits and measures like working from home for those who can – obviously, people who work in the service sector don’t have that luxury, but working from home where you can; occasional limits on car access to city centres, like some in Europe have done; cheaper public transport; more carpooling; greater use of high-speed rail – all of those initiatives that Europe is very familiar with” can reduce dependency on Russian oil.
