More than 197 organizations and businesses have joined a call urging European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to commission an independent, science-based roadmap aimed at making Europe’s current fossil fuel crisis its last. The request was issued in an open letter released ahead of von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address, which the signatories described as a defining moment for the bloc’s energy and climate strategy.
The letter argues that Europeans are currently bearing a двойne burden from continued fossil fuel dependence. First, households and businesses are facing higher energy costs, with the second fossil fuel crisis in four years adding more than €50 billion to Europe’s energy bill. Second, the climate crisis is already imposing a growing human and economic toll, with successive heatwaves since May bringing record temperatures, destructive wildfires and severe drought across the continent. The letter says the June heatwave alone is estimated to have claimed at least 14,000 lives in Europe.
According to the signatories, reliance on fossil fuels has repeatedly undercut Europe’s prosperity and limited its ability to respond to global developments. They say that as long as Europe remains tied to fossil fuel imports, citizens will stay exposed to price shocks and geopolitical decisions made elsewhere.
The proposed report would be led by an eminent independent figure and developed with input from academia, civil society, social partners and businesses. Its purpose would be to provide a shared strategic vision for the rest of the current mandate and outline a fossil fuel exit plan built around five priorities: quantifying the full cost of dependence; identifying the fastest competitive exit pathways; aligning EU and national spending with the transition; ensuring support for a just transition; and expanding nature-based climate solutions such as forests, wetlands, soils, floodplains and green urban spaces.
The letter says such a report could help move Europe toward an energy system that is affordable, renewable, secure and homegrown.
Source: Transport & Environment
