It is no secret that for Vladimir Putin’s Russia, its natural resources are also a weapon with which the Kremlin is realizing its neo-imperial ambitions. Ukraine has faced this for a long time, becoming a victim of blackmail from Moscow on the topic of “pipe closure” and “gas wars.” Now this topic is becoming more tangible for both Europe and the world.
The price of gas recently broke all imaginable and unimaginable records: $1,200 per 1,000 cubic meters — real madness. This price is due not only to objective factors: political blackmail from the Kremlin is also involved. And this is just the beginning. At the same time, for several years now, one of the main topics of world politics has been Nord Stream 2. It is obvious that with its launch, Russia’s pressure on European policy will increase significantly.
How to stop the Kremlin?
In the confrontation with Russia, it is worth thinking more broadly and using all possible strategies. Especially what is so sensitive in Europe and the world ― environmental issues. Climate change is now a top topic in the West. That is why recently in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, I launched the Less Russian Gas initiative, which aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas as a threat to the planet’s environment and Europe’s future. The initiative has already been supported by more than 20 PACE deputies from Poland, Great Britain, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, who signed the statement, including the head of the Polish delegation to the PACE Arkadiusz Mularczyk and the head of the Lithuanian delegation Emanuelis Zingeris. We forwarded the statement to the Secretariat of the Assembly, which testifies to the relevance of the environmental argument.
Such an environmental argument is already being used in the United States, including Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of U.S. Department of Energy, which said that Russian gas is the most polluted in the world. I’m sure it is a productive argument for us too.
Why is Russian gas the most polluted, both literally and metaphorically?
In this context, it is worth mentioning the methane that is currently the second greenhouse gas on the planet after carbon dioxide, which affects the processes of climate change. Moreover, according to the European Environment Agency, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere has increased significantly over the past 40 years. By the mid-2020s, methane may, for the first time in history, account for more than CO2 in total greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the International Energy Agency, despite the fact that methane is stored in the atmosphere for a shorter time than CO2, the greenhouse effect of methane emissions is more than 85 times higher than that of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere.
Reducing methane emissions is one of the key measures in the strategy to combat global warming. The United States and the European Union have a common goal ― to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 (compared to 2020). On Oct. 14, 2020, the European Commission published an EU strategy to reduce methane emissions. It has been prepared in accordance with the roadmap for the implementation of the European Green Deal.
At the same time, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Russia ranks first in the ranking of inefficiency in terms of methane emissions. Russia produces about 20% of the world’s methane emissions ― the most in the world. Most of these emissions come from gas production and transportation.
Methane emissions from Russian pipelines increased by 40% in 2020, despite a 14% decrease in Russian gas exports to Europe and a 10% decrease in global methane emissions.
In 2020, the European Space Agency satellites detected huge plumes of the invisible planet-warming gas methane leaking from the Yamal pipeline that carries natural gas from Siberia to Europe. Energy consulting firm Kayrros estimates that just one leak emits 93 tons of methane per hour, which means that daily leakage emissions are equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by 15,000 vehicles in the United States each year.
At the same time, Europe continues to be dependent on environmentally harmful Russian gas. The total share of Russian gas in Europe in 2020 ― 33% (supplies of Gazprom). The share of fuel and energy products in Russia’s exports is 62.1% (2019).
The launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline increases Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and supports the damage to the planet’s environment caused by Russia’s extraction and transportation of natural gas.
In addition, the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has sued Nord Stream-2, accusing it of destroying the flora and fauna of the Baltic Sea.
Do not forget that Russia is using gas for political blackmail, artificially raising gas prices, or staging so-called “gas wars,” threatening to cut off supplies before winter. With the money received from gas exports, Russia is carrying out destructive activities in Europe, supporting various anti-European groups, pursuing an aggressive policy of aggression against Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and threatening the whole Eastern and Central Europe, supporting the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus and dictatorships in Asia and Africa.
A recent European Parliament resolution states that the EU must be prepared to restrict oil and gas imports from Russia if Moscow continues its threats against EU states and military action against the Eastern Partnership countries. It also notes that “the EU needs to draw up and implement a clear strategy on how to end its dependency on Russian gas and oil and other raw materials (notably iron/steel, aluminium and nickel)”. It is noted that the construction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline goes against European solidarity and risks increasing Russia’s dominance and the EU’s dependence on Russian gas and exposing Ukraine to Russian malevolence, and should be immediately halted and should not be put into use under the current circumstances even if its construction is completed.
Based on the above, Russian gas is the most polluted in the world, both literally and metaphorically. It is devastating for the ecology of the planet and for the future of Europe. Thus, PACE deputies from different countries, who signed the statement initiated by me, agreed that it is necessary:
― to refuse to launch the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline;
― to call on the Russian authorities to step up measures to reduce methane emissions;
― to strengthen monitoring of compliance with environmental standards in the extraction and transportation of Russian gas;
― to draw up and implement a strategy to reduce Europe’s energy dependence on Russian gas.
Putin is a killer, gas is his weapon. We have to put pressure on Russia and make it more environmentally friendly. If we don’t, it will mean that Putin will kill our planet with this gas. Therefore, our slogan now is less gas, especially less Russian gas!
