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Euronews
2 days ago
- Business
- Euronews
EU proposes new measures to phase out Russian oil and gas
The European Commission published a new legislative proposal on Tuesday on how the bloc must phase out Russian oil and gas by 2027. The proposal outlines the deadlines and strategies for EU countries to progressively reduce, and ultimately end, their reliance on Russia as a fuel supplier, as part of the REpowerEU Plan. The proposal does not address nuclear energy, with a senior European Commission official telling journalists that that would be addressed separately. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has progressively reduced the trade of oil, gas and nuclear material from Russia. As of 2024, the EU still relied on Russian imports for 19% of its gas and 3% of its crude oil supply. "Russia has repeatedly attempted to blackmail us by weaponising its energy supplies. We have taken clear steps to turn off the tap and end the era of Russian fossil fuels in Europe for good," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. Under the draft rules, new contracts for Russian gas will be banned starting 1 January 2026. Existing short-term contracts must end by 17 June 2026, with limited exceptions for landlocked countries tied to long-term agreements, which will be allowed until the end of 2027. Long-term contracts for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal services involving Russian companies will also be prohibited, freeing up infrastructure for alternative suppliers. EU countries will be required to submit detailed diversification plans outlining specific steps and milestones to replace Russian energy imports. In a meeting between EU ministers for energy on Monday, Hungary and Slovakia expressed their disagreements with the plan. "Energy policy is a national competence and this endangers our sovereignty and energy security. Given the Middle East escalation, we proposed no such plan be tabled at all," Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote in a post on X. Despite this opposition, the European Commission decided to move forward with the text. The Danish government, which will take over the presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July, wants to reach a political agreement on the text as soon as possible. Lars Aagaard, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, told journalists on Monday that the Danish presidency will make an effort to "reach [political approval] as fast as possible," adding: "If we succeed in concluding [the legislation] before New Year, I think that we have done a tremendous job." The legislation will follow the standard procedure. The co-legislators, namely the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, will negotiate their own position on the file. Afterwards, the text will enter inter-institutional negotiations, the so-called trilogue, to find a political agreement. EU member states in the Council will need a qualified majority to approve the proposal on their side. This reinforced majority requires the support of at least 15 of the 27 member states, representing at least 65% of the EU population. The European Parliament will vote on the proposal by a simple majority vote. A life goal for some, a new beginning for others. Perception and attitude to retirement change widely across the European Union, with, in some cases, staggering rates of pensioners who decide to remain active even after qualifying for an old-age pension. The average across the bloc between entrepreneurs and employees is 40%, according to Eurostat data published in June. The vast majority of pensioners who continue to work are self-employed (56%), with a smaller, though still relevant, rate among employees (24%). Estonia and Iceland stand out as the countries with the highest proportion of working pensioners. Sweden has by far the most industrious retired entrepreneurs. Almost all of them (98.4%) keep working after receiving their old-age pension. Huge rates in Finland and Ireland too, close to 90%. On the contrary, in Spain and Greece, the vast majority prefer to enjoy retirement, and only about one in five entrepreneurs remain active (18% in Spain and 20% in Greece). In some countries, employed pensioners clock in as many as, or more, hours than common workers. Nearly 39 in Bulgaria, 38.5 in Greece, 35.8 in Lithuania and 35.7 in Cyprus, the highest rates in the EU. But most pensioners who keep working prefer part-time options (57%). Which workers are most likely to continue working after receiving an old-age pension? The rate is highest among managers (40.1%) and skilled agriculture, forestry and fishery workers (40.1%). Salesmen (32.2%) and technicians (30.3%) also have significant proportions.
National Observer
25-04-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
Can we really reduce carbon emissions by sending LNG to India?
This article is part of the Reality Check series by Canada's National Observer. Have a question for us? Reach out at [email protected]. Claim: By sending our LNG to India, Canada could reduce emissions by 2.5 billion tonnes. This is a talking point that Pierre Poilievre has brought up several times over the campaign. His party's platform pledges a 'one and done' rule for new resource projects, and he's talked about approving 10 long-standing energy projects, including Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) expansion in British Columbia, uranium mining in Saskatchewan, and a nickel-cobalt mine in Ontario. During the English-language leaders debate last week, Poilievre was asked how he balances the priorities of fighting climate change and expanding energy projects. Poilievre said his government would 'bring home' jobs while also 'bringing down emissions around the world.' He explained that by approving natural gas liquefaction and export, and then sending Canadian gas to India, 'to displace half of their demand for electricity, we could reduce emissions by 2.5 billion tonnes, which is three times the total emissions of Canada.' The official party platform also mentions exporting LNG by utilizing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The party would 'Use Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to dramatically reduce global emissions and fight climate change by exporting cleaner Canadian resources and technologies' and 'Use Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to bring home jobs while exporting cleaner resources like Canadian liquified natural gas (LNG) and technologies to help lower global emissions.' Verdict: False Pierre Poilievre has made the claim several times during the campaign, so we looked into it in our latest fact check. There are a few aspects of this to debunk here. Let's start with Poilievre's promise to fast-track approvals on energy projects, like the LNG terminal in BC. As The Tyee reports, there's one major issue with that: It's already approved. It got the provincial permits stamped in 2015 and federal approval in 2016. What we're now waiting on is LNG Canada Phase 2. As we have reported, that would be an expansion to the already existing terminal. According to John Young, LNG senior strategist with Climate Action Network Canada, it's not federal approvals standing in the way of the terminal moving forward. It's money. 'It just doesn't add up very well for somebody who wants to be prime minister to be so factually incorrect,' Young said. Public funds were used to get the project past the first round of approvals. But in order to move forward, Young told The Tyee that further funds are needed from investors like Shell, Mitsubishi, and PetroChina. And they might need new assurances since the market is in a very different state than it was in 2016. (Girl, the tariffs.) After Poilievre announced he would approve the LNG terminal at a campaign stop in Terrace, B.C., Sven Biggs, oil and gas program director for an environmental group, released a statement, saying 'The fact is, Phase Two of LNG Canada has all the permits it needs. It isn't being built yet because Shell and the other big oil companies that own it need another handout from Ottawa to make this project viable.' But what about his claims that by shipping gas off to India, we could lower global emissions — and use the Paris Agreement to do it? That's not how any of that works. First, Poilievre is claiming that LNG is a better fuel to use over coal because it 'burns cleaner,' which is the ' bridge fuel ' argument put forward by the fossil fuel industry. But we now know better. It seems previous studies had not factored in the emissions produced during the liquefaction process. Rather than being better for the environment, LNG is actually significantly worse than coal. In 2023, 170 climate scientists signed a letter urging then-US President Joe Biden to reject plans for more LNG terminals. So, it's not true that if India swapped half of its coal for Canadian natural gas, global emissions would drop. But where does the Paris Agreement come into this? Article 6 of the Paris Agreement lays out how countries can cooperate with each other and transfer carbon credits, ostensibly in the name of meeting targets. For example, if Indonesia puts mechanisms in place that protect national forests, which absorb carbon emissions, they might be credited for those emissions. They could then sell those credits to Japan to meet its reduction targets. But to avoid double dipping, Indonesia would no longer be credited for those reductions if it sold the credit to another country. As Canada's National Observer's Natasha Bulowski reported this week, the Conservative goal seems to be to change the international framework for counting greenhouse gas emissions so that Canada can get credit for India reducing emissions by burning Canadian LNG instead of coal. That's not how the carbon credit system works. The country that makes the fuel swap — in this case, India — gets credit for lowering emissions, regardless of where that fuel was produced. And at the end of the day, carbon emissions are carbon emissions, no matter where they are released. India has committed to reach net-zero by 2070 and it's not going to achieve that goal if it gives other countries credit for its emission reductions. Using Article 6 in this way has been a dream of other Canadian politicians. In 2023, Canada's National Observer reported that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was advocating for the same goal in meetings with then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At the time, one expert said that if Canada brought the idea up with other United Nations countries, they would be 'laughed out of the room.'
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Energy price cap will fall in July, expert forecaster predicts - is it still worth fixing your tariff now?
The energy price cap is expected to fall by £166 in July, according to expert forecasters. Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight said the price cap will drop from £1,849 to £1,683 in July, an almost 9 per cent fall. It means households would pay 25.01p/kWh for electricity and 6.01p for gas. Further ahead, it expects another small fall in October's price cap, before dropping again in January 2026. It comes after a decline in wholesale prices, in part driven by geopolitical events and market developments, including the implementation of US tariffs, as well as a fall in demand due to the hotter temperatures. Cornwall Insight warns that while falling prices are good in the short term, they show how volatile the wholesale market is. Any reductions priced in now could be out of date by the time the July price cap is finalised. The impact of US tariffs could discourage Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports, which could push down US LNG prices, although there is no guarantee this would filter through to the UK. The conflict in Ukraine could also push prices back, so Cornwall Insight warns that there will continue to be volatility in prices. Dr Craig Lowrey , Principal Consultant at Cornwall Insight says: "While a fall in bills will always be welcomed by households, we mustn't get ahead of ourselves. We have all seen markets go up as fast as they go down, and the very fact the market dropped so quickly shows how vulnerable it to geopolitical and market shifts. 'There is unfortunately no guarantee that any fall in prices will be sustained, and there is always the risk of the market rebounding. 'The only real way to protect households from this constant cycle of instability and insecurity is to reduce our dependence on international wholesale markets. That means continuing to focus on growing low carbon energy generation here in Great Britain and building a more secure, more sustainable energy future.' Is it a good time to fix your energy bill? Many households chose to fix their energy bill ahead of the April price cap increase to save money on their bills. Suppliers are still offering competitive fixed deals that undercut April's price cap, but with prices set to fall in July, will households still save money> The best deal on the market currently is Outfox the Market's 12-month deal, which offers a saving of £300 a year. This means that if you chose to fix now with an average annual bill of £1,549, you'd still be saving money once the cap falls in July. Its 18-month deal offers a saving of £290 while its 24-month offer saves £285.
National Observer
24-04-2025
- Business
- National Observer
Alberta: We have a revenue problem
There is chatter on the national campaign trail of Canada building new pipelines to transport Alberta crude oil and natural gas to destinations across the country, including BC's coast, Hudson Bay and Atlantic refineries. Even though the last thing the world needs right now is more carbon dioxide emissions driving crazier and deadlier fires, floods and droughts, there is one glaring question this conjecture demands: Who do we think is going to buy our expensive, carbon-intensive oil? This vexingly obvious question is missing from the current federal election, and it's conspicuously absent from budget discussions in Alberta. Before anyone gets too excited about spending tens of billions of dollars on another pipeline — and before we miss the chance to have a rational conversation about revenue in Alberta — we had better consider this basic element of consumer economics: You need both a buyer and a seller in any financial transaction. More than 97 per cent of Canada's oil exports and about half of our natural gas are sold to the United States to be refined, used and resold. Despite U.S. refineries investing in processing Alberta's heavy bitumen, their loyalty as customers is uncertain. According to Reuters, Marathon Petroleum — the largest US refining company — is considering switching back to light crude, and Trump's push for energy independence further threatens this relationship, regardless of whether analysts believe this goal is achievable. China purchases 720,000 barrels daily from Canada ($4 billion yearly) via the taxpayer-funded Transmountain Pipeline (that has cost in excess of $34 billion to bring online), which sends equal or greater volumes to California and to Asia. While China leads global oil consumption, it's also the world's top renewable energy producer — generating twice the EU's output and triple America's — and its fossil fuel use has recently peaked as renewable production surges. While Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports could make up some of the difference for Alberta and other gas-producing provinces (with global demand growing 2.5 per cent annually), Canada's late market entry faces uncertainty. Emerging economies may soon abandon this greenhouse gas-emitting resource for cheaper domestic renewables. Who do we think is going to buy our expensive, carbon-intensive oil? writes Stephen Legault Don't look to Europe for new oil and gas markets. According to EuroStat, the European market for natural gas has fallen by two-thirds in the last two decades and the market for heavy crude oil is practically non-existent. According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) 2024 Energy Outlook, global oil demand will decrease by about 1 million barrels per day in coming years, with Alberta's expensive, carbon-intensive heavy crude presenting a promising target for carbon and cost-conscious buyers. Despite this, politicians continue proposing new pipelines costing tens to hundreds of billions and requiring decades to complete, while Alberta simultaneously faces a self-created revenue crisis. There are solutions to this problem, but so far no politician in Alberta wants to face the fact that one in every four dollars Alberta spends on health, education and social programs comes from petroleum exports, whose future is almost certainly in decline. The largest buyer of our oil is working to wean itself off our oil, for economic reasons rather than climate, but the impact is the same. Pounding our fists on the table isn't going to change things, and nor is pipeline boosterism — there's neither proponent nor market and even if there were either, this is a solution that would take years, if not a decade, to come to fruition. That's not a good bet given the long-term prospects for oil. The most important thing Alberta must do is have an adult conversation about how we will pay the bills in the future. Whoever is governing after 2027 will face this challenge head on. There is no longer time to kick this problem down the road.
Reuters
04-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Gazprom's venture seeks workers for vast Ust-Luga gas complex
MOSCOW, April 4 (Reuters) - RusKhimAlyans, a subsidiary of Russia's state-owned Gazprom ( opens new tab, announced job vacancies for its new gas processing complex in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, in a sign of confidence the plant will start operations despite sanctions. The complex is part of Gazprom's strategy to shift its focus to processing and will combine a gas processing plant and a gas chemical complex. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. It is designed to process annually 45 billion cubic metres of natural gas, 13 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas, 3.6 million tons of ethane and up to 1.8 million tons of liquefied petroleum gas. That would make it Russia's largest gas processing plant and one of the world's largest in terms of production volumes. The start of operations has been delayed after Western partners, such as Linde ( opens new tab, an industrial gases and engineering company, left the project following the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. RusKhimAlyans has been embroiled in legal battles with the companies, claiming billions of dollars in damages. According to a staff recruitment website, the company has 170 job vacancies, including a LNG contract manager, a logistics expert and a paperwork specialist. The construction of the complex started in 2021. According to the Russian government documents, the first line of the gas processing complex is expected to start operations in 2026, while the first line of the LNG plant is scheduled to start working in 2027. Russia has a goal to boost its share of the global LNG market to around a fifth by 2030-2035, but Western sanctions in response to the Ukraine war have complicated the ambition. The United States imposed measures on some companies involved in development of Ust-Luga Liquified Natural Gas terminal. The U.S. has also included RusKhimAlyans in the "Specially Designated Nationals" list, which blocs the assets and prohibits U.S. citizens from dealing with them.
