Denmark wants to stop importing Russian gas starting in 2023 ( Photo: FETHI BELAID / AFP)
Check out the original article on the jn.pt website
Denmark will temporarily increase its own natural gas production in the North Sea in order to stop receiving supplies from Russia starting in 2023, according to a plan presented Tuesday by the Copenhagen government.
“We’re going to do this ‘with our eyes wide open.’ Until biogas production is sufficient to meet all our needs, we’re convinced it’s better to extract more gas from the North Sea than to buy it from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a press conference.
Denmark's prime minister also said that the country will uphold the international agreement to phase out oil and gas extraction in the North Sea by 2050 and will therefore expand its use of renewable energy.
In 2019, domestic production accounted for 72% of the gas consumed in the country, according to the Danish Energy Agency, with Russia among the leading suppliers.
Russia supplies between 40 and 45 percent of the gas imported by the European Union. The 27 countries in the European Union are trying to phase out Russian gas imports in response to the invasion of Ukraine, but experts say the process could take several years.
In the proposal presented today, the Danish government said it will ensure—before the end of the year—that the 400,000 homes that rely on natural gas for heating have access to a district heating network or receive subsidies to install a new heating system.
According to the government's plan, the goal is to have half of the 400,000 homes that use natural gas switch to alternative energy sources by 2028, so that the country can phase out natural gas by 2030.
By that time (2030), the government plans to quadruple total renewable energy production, increase offshore wind power by between one and four gigawatts, and expand various projects to build artificial islands for green energy production.
By 2030, Denmark plans to export renewable energy to the European mainland, according to the plan presented today.
On February 24, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine that has already killed nearly 2,000 civilians, according to UN data, which warns that the actual number is likely much higher.
The war caused about 12 million people to flee, more than five million of whom fled to other countries.
The Russian invasion was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and tightening economic and political sanctions against Moscow.
