Ukraine: Johnson to set out UK energy strategy ‘in days ahead’ as EU clings to Russian oil and gas
Boris Johnson has vowed to set out a new UK energy strategy to deal with the fallout of the Ukrainian invasion as EU leaders declare they cannot cut off Russian oil and gas yet.
Johnson said the plan will be set out “in the days ahead” and that the UK is looking at “using more of our own hydrocarbons”.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Johnson both said during a press conference that the EU cannot completely cut itself off from Russian hydrocarbons, in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, as the continent is far too reliant on its oil and gas.
The UK uses far less gas from Russia than other European countries, however household energy bills are still heavily reliant on global market prices which are expected to continue to spike.
Industry body Energy UK now expects the energy price cap could increase from £2,000 to £3,000 later this year, after it was £1,138 in September.
“So far the success of the West has been in the unity we’ve shown and I think we’re all increasingly united in the mood that we’ve got to move away from Russian hydrocarbons, we’ve got to make sure that we have substitutes and substitute supply and that’s what we’re working on as well,” Johnson said.
“One of the things that we’re looking at is the possibility of using more of our own hydrocarbons, and you’ll have heard already what the Business Secretary’s had to say about licences for UK owned domestic production.
“That doesn’t mean we are in any way abandoning our commitment to CO2, you can do that, but we’ve got to reflect the reality that there is a crunch on at the moment, we need to intensify our self-reliance as a transition with more hydrocarbons but what we’ve also got to do is go for more nuclear and more renewable energy.”
Pressure is coming onto EU countries to sanction Russian energy and oil companies, with the US leading the charge as it mulls over a ban on Russian oil imports.
EU leaders have said they want to reduce their reliance on Russian hydrocarbons, but that an immediate ban would be disastrous for the continent’s energy supplies.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz today said that cutting his country’s reliance on Russian energy “cannot be done overnight”.
Speaking in London, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “We still need European companies to continue their work towards Russia and that is important. What we need to do over time is to ensure we reduce dramatically our energy dependency on Russia, that’s clear.
“The painful reality is that we’re much too dependent on Russian gas and Russian oil. We have to dramatically reduce our dependency on gas and oil from Russia – that will take time.”