As the horrific war in Ukraine rages on and energy prices continue to rise, a key question facing EU policy-makers, businesses and consumers is how to reduce energy consumption – and save money in the process.

The recent tragic events in Ukraine have demonstrated the clear need for the EU to speed up its energy transition in order to reduce its dependency on Russian oil and gas. Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans and Commissioner Kadri Simon announced REPowerEU this week, a communication outlining measures to accomplish just that.

Over the past several days, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaken the world. Alongside the horror for the Ukrainian people, there are also the global ramifications.  When it comes to energy supply and demand in Europe, we were already at the centre of a perfect storm.

Marie Cabbia Hubatova, Manager for International Climate, spoke with Bunkerspot about the progress we can make toward decarbonising the shipping sector in 2022. 

Environmental Defense Fund Europe welcomes the European Commission’s new legislative to reduce methane pollution in the energy sector. While the package offers important technical measures for operators within the EU, however, it is silent on the vast majority of Europe’s methane footprint, which comes from imported natural gas.

Optimising the EU ETS’ scope of shipping emissions coverage and revenue use could support the decarbonization of the shipping sector

Despite global efforts to address the climate crisis, the shipping sector is on track to increase its global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. China’s effort to increase investment and economic collaboration by building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – is a great opportunity for countries to cooperate on decarbonizing shipping.  

Cutting methane emissions represents a crucial opportunity in the fight against climate change. Over the last century, the amount of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled and methane pollution from human activity now accounts for at least a quarter of global warming. Our new policy brief outlines how EU policymakers can take action now.  

A study by Ricardo and Environmental Defense Fund for the P4G Getting to Zero Coalition Partnership finds that Mexico holds great potential to supply the global shipping industry with zero carbon fuels.