Russia has already taken measures in recent weeks. And turned the gas tap to the Netherlands partly closed† This also happened in other European countries, including Italy and Germany.
And that could be a harbinger for worse, says IEA director Fatih Birol in conversation with the Financial Times (FT† “Europe needs to get ready for the road to Russian gas to be completely cut off,” Birol said.
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‘Keep nuclear power stations open’
He urges governments to take action: demand must be reduced, consumers must use less gas. And nuclear power plants should remain open even if they are outdated, he believes.
“The closer we get to winter, the better we understand Russian intentions,” Birol says. Russia would like to thwart Europe when it comes to replenishing those stocks for the coming cold season. Gas is power.
Coal-fired power stations at full throttle
That is why the Netherlands opts for coal. The coal-fired power stations are allowed to run at full power again for the time being to generate electricity and thus further replenish gas reserves. Germany also took new emergency measures and announced this week that it was entering a next ‘alarm phase’.
Coal and savings are also an issue here. Germany is one of the largest European buyers of Russian gas.
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Worrying about winter
According to Member of Parliament and energy expert Henri Bontenbal (CDA), it is now necessary for the coal-fired power stations to run faster. He is also concerned about the upcoming winter: “We are not yet well prepared enough and the cat and mouse game with Russia will continue in the coming months,” he tells RTL Z.
Everything that we can save in Russian gas is therefore welcome. “It is not expected that this will be the last time,” he says about the future of the conflict with Russia.
The major drawback is of course the climate damage, although according to the expert there is also less emissions due to the high energy prices at the moment. “It would be better if we hadn’t had these crises.” Bontenbal believes that both the climate and energy crisis should be tackled together as much as possible.
“Any solution”
A fact that the energy agency also points out. The agency calculated on Wednesday that international investments in renewable energy sources such as those from solar and wind, to grow.
But it is still far from enough to really tackle this energy crisis or that of the climate. Only a huge increase can make that happen, Birol says. According to him, it is ‘the only solution.’
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