IEA Director says Europe is falling behind on electrification

London (ANTARA) - Europe made a major mistake by failing to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels quickly enough since the 2022 energy crisis, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, warned recently.

According to a report published by the Financial Times (FT) on Saturday (11 July), Birol said Europe’s relatively low level of electrification was weakening the bloc’s competitiveness and economic sovereignty.

Electricity accounts for around 23 per cent of the European Union’s final energy consumption, a level comparable to that of the United States, even though Europe is far more dependent on imported fossil fuels.

Birol said Europe should have responded more decisively after the 2022 gas crisis and made greater efforts to raise its electrification rate.

The FT reported that the European Commission is expected to announce a series of measures in the coming days aimed at accelerating electrification across the bloc.

The proposals include encouraging member states to cut taxes on electricity and to provide incentives for households to switch to heat pumps, electric vehicles and other green technologies.

Birol also warned that inadequate electricity grid capacity was slowing the pace of electrification in Europe.

Although the bloc installed a record 85 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity last year, some 600 gigawatts of completed renewable energy projects were still waiting to be connected to the grid, the report said.