Oddly, Russia indirectly paves the way for the EU’s transition to green energy. Moscow’s dodgy policy, including arm-twisting in gas sales and assertive rhetoric, forces Europe to shift focus away from fossil fuels toward alternative energy forces. For example, France is serious about replacing Russian gas with biogas from agricultural waste. 

The EU is forging ahead with its addiction to Russian gas. Several countries terminated their contracts with Russian energy suppliers. Other EU members are investigating options of energy sources. France intends to offset by 2030 a large share of Russian energy by biomethane produced from livestock manure. French farmers are in accord with European authorities to overcome the dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Small rural gas plants are launched across the country to provide energy for hundreds or thousands of nearby households. Indeed, biogas could be an efficient solution to reduce Europe’s energy dependence.  

France is among the first EU countries to embark on this path. According to industry statistics, biomethane accounted for nearly 1% of the country’s gas demand in 2021. Its share is expected to increase to 2% in 2022. Biofuel will represent almost 20% of the total gas consumption in 2023. This share will exceed the volume of France’s gas imports from Russia last year. 

Earlier, research direction at Vygon Consulting Maria Belova predicted that North Macedonia, the Netherlands, and Serbia will be able to reject contracts with Russian gas suppliers in the not-too-distant future.