The United States is planning to sell natural gas to the European Union as part of an overall plan to cut Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.
As part of the plan, the U.S. will ship 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas to EU markets this year. There is also a new joint task force that will work to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.
During a news conference in Brussels on Friday, President Biden said “Today we’ve agreed on a joint game plan for that goal, while accelerating our progress towards a secure, clean energy future”.
Biden noted that the initiative also seeks “to maximize the use of renewable energy and reduce energy demand”, reported the New York Post.
According to a factsheet provided by the White House, the European Commission will work with EU countries to ensure “approximately 50 bcm/year of additional U.S. LNG” until at least 2030.
“As global leaders in renewable energy, the United States and the European Commission will work to expedite planning and approval for renewable energy projects and strategic energy cooperation, including on technologies where we both excel such as offshore wind,” the fact sheet says.
The German government recently vowed to cease all purchases of Russian oil and coal by the end of this year and completely stop all imports of Russian energy by mid-2024.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said “In recent weeks, we have made intensive efforts together with all relevant players to import fewer fossil fuels from Russia and to put supply on a broader footing”.
“The first important milestones have been reached in order to free ourselves from the grip of Russian imports,” he added.