EU countries reduce 19% of gas consumption, says French minister

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 7. Together, EU countries achieved a reduction of 19 percent of gas consumption between August 2022 and March 2023, France’s Minister of Energy Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher said at the 8th Annual Global Conference on Energy Efficiency, Trend reports.

“We need to continue these efforts in the long run,” she said.

Agnes Pannier-Runacher pointed out that the world is facing a doubling crisis: a climate crisis and energy crisis.

“With the war in Ukraine, the energy prices surged threatening our people and our companies. The first and easiest way to address this double crisis is to reduce energy demand. To accelerate on reduction of energy demand we have to measures: energy savings and energy efficiency,” she said.

The French minister noted that energy saving is one of the cost-efficient solutions.

“Turning down the heater, switching the light off doesn’t cost anything except changing one’s habits. But it implies behavioral change. In France we have a sufficiency plan that encourages all sectors to reduce energy demand. During last winter, this initiative helped us in France to reduce our electricity and gas consumption altogether by 12 percent. It was not only a question of hot weather, it was the outcome of election plan that was broadly implemented. Bringing energy efficiency improvements to 4 percent per year would reduce up to 1/3 the current global energy consumption and emissions. This is massive, and is a clear call for action,’ she added.

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