The European Commission has defended its recent commitment to purchase $750 billion worth of US energy over the next three years, asserting that the deal remains in line with the EU’s decarbonisation goals and does not undermine its climate ambitions. The agreement includes increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil, and nuclear energy from the United States, aiming to accelerate Europe’s break from Russian energy dependence.
“The deal is fully compatible with our medium and long-term policy to diversify our energy sources and implement the REPowerEU roadmap,” an EU official stated on Thursday. The Commission reaffirmed its pledge to phase out Russian energy imports “as soon as possible” and reach climate neutrality by 2050.
The announcement came in response to mounting criticism from environmental groups, particularly the European Environment Bureau (EEB), which described the deal as “fundamentally incompatible” with the bloc’s 2030 climate targets. The EC had recently proposed a draft target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% from 1990 levels by 2040.
Critics argue that current US energy exports to the EU, valued between $90–100 billion annually, would need to more than double to meet the $750 billion commitment. Luke Haywood, head of climate and energy at the EEB, said such an increase contradicts the EU’s need to significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption in order to meet its climate targets.
“Promising increased fuel imports from a shrinking pie is a very tall order,” Haywood noted. “The future of EU trade lies in renewables, electrification, flexibility, and efficiency — not in fossil fuels.”
The Commission, however, urged stakeholders not to get “hung up by the numbers,” emphasizing the transitional nature of the deal and its compatibility with long-term climate strategy.
