Fatih Birol: “Russia Can Completely Cut Off Natural Gas Exports To Europe”

International Energy Agency (UEA) President Fatih Birol evaluated the agenda. Birol said, "While Europe is taking steps to reduce natural gas from Russia, Russia can cut its natural gas exports to Europe completely. I think such a possibility is on the table."

International Energy Agency (UEA) President Fatih Birol evaluated Russia's natural gas exports to Europe at the conference titled "The Role of Energy Security, Clean Energy and Finance" organized by the Sabancı University Istanbul International Energy and Climate Center. Emphasizing that European countries should be careful about natural gas, Birol said, "While Europe is taking steps to reduce natural gas from Russia, Russia may cut its natural gas exports to Europe completely. I think such a possibility is on the table. Energy and geopolitics are always intertwined, but this is not the case. "I don't remember a time when it was so intertwined. Energy is at the top of the sectors that cause the climate crisis. 80 percent of the emissions that cause the climate crisis in the world come from the energy sector." Noting that the tendency towards coal in energy production will increase, Birol said, "We see that coal investments in the world will increase by 10 percent in 2022. In other words, there is a 2-digit increase and when we look at the next years, there is no sign that this increase will decrease. Clean energy investments come from 4 main areas. The first three areas are solar and wind, energy efficiency, batteries. We see that battery investments, especially in the USA, will double this year. The fourth is electric vehicles. The energy crisis we are experiencing seems to lead to an unexpected leap in many clean and reliable energy technologies." Sabancı University Founding Board of Trustees Chairperson Güler Sabancı made the following statements on clean energy: "We are in a period where important steps should not be interrupted in order to ensure a more sustainable future of our planet in climate security and clean energy. For a more sustainable future, a holistic perspective that strengthens energy security and supports growth in clean energy is required. Efficiency, competitiveness, innovative business models and clean energy are needed. We need to grow with sustainable investment and financing that focuses on technology."