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| International Energy Agency's executive director, Fatih Biro |
The International Energy Agency's executive director, Fatih Birol, warned that the European Union is making a "mistake" by slowing down the transition to electricity and continuing to rely on fossil fuels.
Birol's remarks came during a joint interview with European Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, as reported by the Financial Times on Saturday.
Birol argued that the main way to achieve European energy independence is to switch to using electricity instead of fuel, because this approach will significantly reduce the amount of oil and gas that the continent imports from abroad.
He said: "We need to electrify our energy sector and economy as much as possible, meaning more electric cars, more heat pumps, and more electricity-based industries."
Birol explained that the low rate of conversion to electricity in the European Union, which does not exceed 23%, undermines the bloc's competitiveness in the global energy race.
Birol pointed out that the bloc should follow the example of countries such as China, Japan and South Korea, where electricity use has exceeded 30% of their economy.
The Financial Times, citing a draft it had seen, revealed that the European Commission for Energy intends to put forward a plan next week calling on member states to cut electricity taxes and increase support for households to adopt clean energy technologies.
Birol noted that around 600 gigawatts of renewable energy are ready and waiting to be connected to the grid.
In a controversial move, Birol called on the European Union to review its ban on drilling in the Arctic region.
