Europe has made a “major mistake” by failing to wean its economy off imported fossil fuels quickly enough since the 2022 energy crunch, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned, as the EU prepares to roll out measures to increase electrification next week. Fatih Birol said that Europe’s low electrification rate — electricity’s share of the energy consumed in the EU — of around 23 per cent is holding back the bloc’s competitiveness and economic “sovereignty”. The EU’s rate is similar to major oil producers such as the US despite its heavy reliance on imports of hydrocarbons.
“This is in my view a major mistake for Europe,” Birol told the FT. “In general, I would have hoped and expected that Europe would have been more responsive to this crisis.”
In a joint interview with Europe’s energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen, both leaders said that Europe needed to electrify its economy faster after facing two energy crises in less than five years. Europe should seek to emulate countries such as China, Japan and South Korea, which have an electrification rate of more than 30 per cent, Birol said.