Report

Why renewables and electrification hold they keys to EU energy security

This report from UK think tank Chatham House supports an accelerated transition as a means to meet climate goals and also to improve the EU’s energy security.

The EU’s well-known commitment to the low-carbon transition implies rapid take-up of technologies – including electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines – that are often principally associated with tackling climate change. However, beyond the benefits in terms of emissions reduction, the energy transition is critical to the EU purely on the grounds of energy security. This fact is often lost on those who argue, not always in good faith, that the EU cannot transition more rapidly from fossil fuels to renewables without putting its energy security at risk.

This paper advocates an accelerated transition as a means not only to meet climate goals but also to improve the EU’s energy security. Our analysis highlights how the bloc’s reliance on imported fossil fuels is a major source of energy insecurity, explains why nuclear power cannot take up the slack (for reasons of cost, long development timeframes, and legacy reliance on Russian fuel and parts), and illustrates the ability of renewables to alleviate price volatility, insulate against supply shocks and mitigate the geopolitical risks associated with the EU’s fossil fuel demand. Also critical to the success of this transition are the electrification of transport and increased use of flexible, digitized grids to manage supply and demand more efficiently.

The paper presents detailed proposals for policy changes that could be undertaken by the European Commission and its partners.