European leaders vow to boost North Sea green energy production

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Nine countries from the North Sea region on Monday committed to offshore wind and green transition as the future of energy supply.

Leaders of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Norway, and European Commission as well as a UK delegation led by Energy Secretary Grant Shapps gathered at the second North Sea Summit in Ostend, Belgium.

Speaking at the joint news conference, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said their goal is to deliver a greener Europe which is energy independent.

"... a Europe that can grow in a sustainable way that can continue creating jobs and especially that can keep heavy industry chemistry and all these activities here on the European continent," he added.

For her part, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said they are taking an important step in realizing their common ambition.

"We are raising the bar 300 gigawatts of offshore wind in the North Sea by 2050 – the largest electricity system in Europe. Its offshore, it's green and it is European," she stressed.

On the importance of accelerating green ambition for Europe, Frederiksen said Russia's war on Ukraine has also made "absolutely clear that Europe need to produce more energy" itself.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar stressed the need for ending use of fossil fuels, saying this urgent action is reinforced by the war in Ukraine.

"We must not just see climate change as a burden however; this is also a moment of opportunity. Wind energy in particular provides real opportunities for Ireland and will help us achieve the ambition I have set for Ireland to become energy independent within a generation," he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned "homegrown" industrial development and stressed the importance of a "made in Europe" approach.

To achieve its objectives, Europe must rely on European expertise and strengthen European industrialists, he said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the North Sea as "the energy powerhouse right before our front door" that would help Europe become climate neutral.

However, he warned that this will require countries to "think bigger" and strengthen their supply chains.

For her part, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that green hydrogen can be the game changer for Europe, its industries and its economy.

"And the North Sea region has the potential to produce massive amounts of green hydrogen and to become the main corridor for imports," she said, calling on participant countries to work on cross-border hydrogen projects.

Touching on last year's meeting, she recalled that it was the "year of a severe energy crisis that was triggered by the Russian war."

However, she said they have managed together to get rid of their dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

"We have diversified away from Russia to reliable partners. The European people have saved 20% of their energy consumption. But most importantly, we have massively invested in renewables," added von der Leyen.

The first meeting of North Sea Summit was held in Esbjerg, Denmark in 2022.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, the leaders pledged to aim for 120GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 in the North Sea and northern seas, including the Irish Sea, and 300GW by 2050.