The head of the International Energy Agency has warned Europe made a \u201cmajor mistake\u201d by failing to end its economy reliance on imported fossil fuels quickly enough since the 2022 energy crunch.<\/p>\n
Fatih Birol said Europe\u2019s low electrification rate, electricity\u2019s share of the energy consumed in the EU, of roughly 23 per cent is holding back its competitiveness and economic \u201csovereignty\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the Financial Times, Birol said: \u201cThis is in my view a major mistake for Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn general, I would have hoped and expected that Europe would have been more responsive to this crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n
Birol said Europe must electrify its economy faster after facing two energy crises in less than five years, and seek to copy countries including China, Japan and South Korea, who have an electrification rate of more than 30 per cent.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s energy commissioner Dan Jorgenson also admitted the EU\u2019s heating, transport and industrial sectors remain reliant on imported fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
This reliance has left states, including the UK, scrambling amid the conflict in the Middle East, after US strikes damaged oil fields and other major ports, constraining global supply.<\/p>\n
In March, the International Energy Agency (IEA) admitted the war was \u201ccreating a major energy crisis\u201d and urged people to work from home and limit commuting in a bid to limit oil<\/a> use.<\/p>\n Lowering taxes<\/p>\n The Commission will lay out plans next week to require countries to lower taxes on electricity and offer support to encourage households to adopt heat pumps, electric cars and other green technologies.<\/p>\n The plans would partly be achieved by mandating that electricity be taxed less heavily than fossil fuels, but these measures could prove expensive for countries that are heavily reliant on taxation coming from electricity bills.<\/p>\n Birol also warned that ongoing issues with grid capacity are holding back the EU\u2019s electrification push, with grid congestion in the region coming from problems at both regional and national levels.<\/p>\n The UK and the North Sea<\/p>\n