Move the thermostat one degree down to deter Putin – EU advice for Irish households

Now, the EU has planned to end this dependence as quickly as possible.

Here’s all you need to know about something that has an immediate effect on all of us.

Where is Ireland in all of this?

The country is not directly dependent on Russian gas and oil. A quarter of the gas we capture comes from the Corrib field – and the rest from or through the UK. But all energy prices are linked to European and world markets and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made an already bad energy situation much worse.

The EU, the US and the Western world in particular are now obliged to severely limit Russia’s energy supplies that bring so much wealth to Moscow. But such sanctions negatively impact all of our daily lives and threaten livelihoods.

What is the EU’s response?

The Brussels-based European Commission for Policy Guidelines has been tasked with planning a number of quick fixes to ease its sizable dependence on Russian gas and oil. That’s not particularly easy.

Just a little less demanding is the act of taking the 27 member states of the EU out of the “Russian energy universe” by 2030. That is why they have announced a new plan they propose. giving individual governments a great deal of autonomy to define national energy policies.

So, what is the EU’s cunning new energy plan?

Russia currently supplies 40pc of natural gas supplies to the EU. In some countries, the dependence is much heavier.

Until recently, Germany received 55 percent of its gas from Russia. That reliance has grown as it continues a decades-long move to phase out its nuclear power plants.

The main EU man in all of this is Climate Policy Commissioner Frans Timmermans, a Dutchman, whose Dutchman sounds like an Oxford when he speaks English. He simply recommends finding other suppliers in the short term and focusing more on renewables like wind and hydrogen.

Can you give us a taste of the details?

Yes – but it’s a bit technical. Timmermans Commission officials say gas and liquefied natural gas, from countries such as the United States and Qatar, this year could displace more than a third – or about 60 billion cubic meters (bcm) – in 155 bcm that the EU receives each year from Russia. .

By 2030, increased use of hydrogen and biomethane could help increase this advantage. New wind and solar projects could replace 20 bcm of gas demand this year. Capacity tripling by 2030, adding 480GW of wind and 420GW of solar, could save 170 bcm a year.

What is this about refusing to increaseting?

EU officials say lowering the temperature by one degree Celsius could save another 10 bcm this year. By 2030, moves to replace gas boilers with 30 million heat pumps could save 35 bcm.

There is a nod to Taoiseach Michael Martin as he arrives for a special summit of EU leaders in Paris on Thursday. Several countries are looking for more EU funding to protect consumers from soaring energy prices, which hit new highs this week.

The EU Commission said member states could tax energy companies’ profits from high gas prices, to offset higher electricity bills. Watch out for the ESB, which the Opposition has said has made record profits. The International Energy Agency says such taxes could raise 200 billion euros this year across 27 countries.

Curiously, gas flows to Europe have so far remained steady since the invasion. However, Moscow has warned that Western sanctions on Russian oil – an idea supported by the US but has divided EU nations – could lead it to shut down a gas pipeline. large burning to Europe.

The EU will also propose rules in April that would require EU countries to fill up their gas storage by 90pc by October 1 every year. Memory in the European Union is exhausted now only 27pc full.