US President Joe Biden and European Commission [14] president Ursula von der Leyen on March 25 announced a joint Task Force to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian hydrocarbons and "strengthen European energy security as President Putin wages his war of choice against Ukraine." The press release [15] states: "The United States will work with international partners and strive to ensure additional LNG volumes for the EU market of at least 15 bcm [billion cubic meters] in 2022, with expected increases going forward." This means liquified natural gas from the US fracking industry.
The press release did add: "The United States and the European Commission will undertake efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of all new LNG infrastructure and associated pipelines, including through using clean energy to power onsite operations, reducing methane leakage, and building clean and renewable hydrogen-ready infrastructure."
But environmentalist critics were not appeased. Murray Worthy, gas campaign leader at Global Witness [16], responded [17]: "Today's agreement puts the EU and the US on a misguided and dangerous path by fast-tracking new infrastructure to import fossil gas into Europe. Europe already has enough capacity to import the amount of gas the US intends to supply, and building new import terminals would mean locking in fossil gas imports for years to come, long after the EU needs to quit this climate-wrecking fuel for good... If Europe truly wants to get off Russian gas the only real option it has is phasing out gas altogether." (DW [20])
Over the weekend, hundreds were arrested in England as the activist group Just Stop Oil [21] disrupted petrol supplies from seven critical facilities near London and Birmingham to press their demand that the United Kingdom call a halt to new oil and gas projects. In a statement [22], Just Stop Oil said it is "calling on the UK government to get a grip and implement an emergency programme to reduce our reliance on oil and gas through insulation, renewables and free public transport." (Jurist [23])
World oil prices have surged [24] to $100 a barrel in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.