Germany says the earliest it can get off Russian oil and gas is 2025. The EU says 2027. This is NOT true. They could stop buying Putin's dirty fossil fuels IMMEDIATELY if they wanted to truly support the people of Ukraine. In this thread I'll show you how... #switchoffputin 1/12
(For simplicity I'll focus here on gas. Oil is more easily substitutable, as is coal.) This is based on a report I have co-authored for the new environmental NGO @letsreplanet. Press release: replanet.ngo/post/switch-of… 2/12
It is morally obscene that Europe sends billions to help finance Putin's war on the innocent people of Ukraine. Since the invasion began on 24 Feb, Europe has sent 22 billion euros to the Kremlin. That buys a lot of missiles and bombs! Keep tabs here: beyond-coal.eu/russian-fossil… 3/12
Last year Europe bought 155 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas from Russia. This is the magic number. How can this be substituted? The biggest win is to turn down thermostats - we suggest from 22C to 18C across all of Europe. Wear a jumper for Ukraine! That saves 40bcm. 4/12
The second biggest is to get new gas supplies, mostly via LNG imports. That could bring 30bcm, without driving the price too high and impoverishing developing countries. Next we can bring shuttered French reactors back online quickly: 26 bcm. 5/12
We can also switch back to coal rather than gas for electricity generation. True, it's bad for the climate, but without it Europe will be dark and freezing next winter. We suggest ONE YEAR ONLY for this one. 22bcm. 6/12
Next we can reverse the nuclear phase-out in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, and restart recently closed reactors. This is an emergency, folks! 14bcm. And if we massively fast-track wind and solar (emergency approvals for all permits) we can get another 6 bcm. 7/12
We will have to curtail heavy industry for a year: 7bcm, and burn oil in gas power stations: 6bcm. (Both Year 1-2 only) Emergency installation of millions of heat pumps to reduce gas used in space heating is another 4bcm. Summary... 8/12
Thermostats down by 4C: 40bcm
LNG and diversification: 30bcm
French reactors: 26bcm
Gas to coal: 22bcm
Reverse nuclear phaseout: 14bcm
Industry curtailment: 7bcm
Solar & wind: 6bcm
Gas to oil: 6bcm
Heat pumps: 4bcm
TOTAL: 155bcm. That's ALL THE RUSSIAN GAS imports ended. 9/12
LNG and diversification: 30bcm
French reactors: 26bcm
Gas to coal: 22bcm
Reverse nuclear phaseout: 14bcm
Industry curtailment: 7bcm
Solar & wind: 6bcm
Gas to oil: 6bcm
Heat pumps: 4bcm
TOTAL: 155bcm. That's ALL THE RUSSIAN GAS imports ended. 9/12
Doing this will require unprecedented levels of solidarity within Europe. But isn't that what the EU was set up for? The most Putin-dependent countries need the most assistance. And there will need to be fair shares to make sure the lowest income households don't suffer. 10/12
It will be tough. But Europe - Germany especially - is now facing the bitter consequences of the Faustian bargain it made long ago with authoritarianism in Russia. All those years of appeasement, the all-expenses paid trips to Moscow...and now we have an energy emergency. 11/12
Here's the full report, with sources and footnotes, and an 'open call' we hope everyone will join.
Citizens of Europe! You may not be able to send aid, or host a refugee family - but you can still #switchoffputin
switchoffputin.org 12/12
Citizens of Europe! You may not be able to send aid, or host a refugee family - but you can still #switchoffputin
switchoffputin.org 12/12
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
