Do EVERYTHING to become more independent from Russia / Compromises on environmental protection necessary in the short term / Keep climate protection targets at all costs, because in the medium and long term climate protection and independence require the same measures / Do not ignore IPCC

"With our energy bill we are financing Putin's war in Ukraine. That is why we must immediately use ALL! alternatives," said the environmental spokesman of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats) Dr Peter Liese on the occasion of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. "The world has changed and therefore every policy area must also change. This also applies to environmental policy. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the fact that climate protection requires to a large extent the same measures as the goal of becoming less dependent from Russia. The alarming statements of the IPCC must not be ignored," said Liese.

Liese called for an import ban on coal from Russia in the short term: "Coal is the dirtiest form of energy, and the fact that we are making ourselves dependent on Russia here when there are numerous alternatives, such as South Africa, Australia and Colombia, has been incomprehensible to me for a long time." He referred to calculations according to which the European Union imports energy, i.e. oil, gas and coal, worth 67 billion US dollars annually from Russia. Russia's military budget, on the other hand, is "only" 61 billion US dollars. "Every effort is justified to reduce this high sum and this is where we have to make compromises in the short term, even as environmental politicians. The rejection of fracking must be put to the test, as must the phase-out of nuclear energy in Germany, whereby it must be carefully examined whether the continued operation of the power plants is practically necessary at all. In parts of the European Union, of course, there is still a dependence on Russia, e.g. through spare parts for older Russian-designed power plants."

"In the medium and long term, however, the Green Deal is absolutely the solution and not the problem. We must move forward as quickly as possible with the expansion of renewable energies as well as energy efficiency. New nuclear power plants are no solution either, because they take at least 20 years to plan and build. If we have not solved the problem of our dependence and the problem of climate protection by then, it will be too late in both areas," explained Liese. Liese published an 11-point plan to tackle the problem:  https://peter-liese.de/images//First_reflection_on_reaction_to_Russian_intervention_and_environmentalclimate_policy.pdf