Geopolitical impact of energy transition

Key points

The own-initiative opinion (OIO) is part of an EESC umbrella opinion “A strategic vision on energy transition to enable sustainable development” covering various aspects of the energy transition. Once all opinions by the different EESC Sections have been gathered, the respective recommendations will constitute the EESC's overarching political message to the EU Institutions. 

The EESC:

• commends the efforts of the European Commission and individual Member States, which have accelerated the process of gaining independence from Russian energy supplies.
• believes that, given the dynamics of the war in Ukraine, it is nevertheless necessary to accelerate the process by imposing a strict embargo, which must involve the speedy development of alternative clean energy sources.
• The EESC welcomes the fact that Europe remains at the forefront of the energy transition, but points out that changes within the EU are not sufficient to offset the effects of global emissions and that it is in our clear interest, both in terms of climate change and economic expansion to ensure sustainable global development, that action is taken internationally.
• welcomes a number of EU initiatives that either strengthen the EU's internal resilience, such as REPowerEU, or those such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership, the Global Gateway and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, which facilitate political stability.
• The EESC welcomes the initiative to connect Moldova and Ukraine to the European energy grid, but also calls for periodical reviews of the geopolitical situation resulting from dynamic changes in the energy structure in countries such as Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan
• The EESC draws attention to the need to build special relations with countries that are major suppliers of heavy metals and raw materials necessary for producing clean energy technologies and which may be threatened. This requires the development of a whole new industry in international relations: European energy diplomacy.