- The United States argued for imposing a price cap on Russia.
- The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air called for more effective sanctions against Moscow .
- CREA estimated the European Union was the top importer of Russian fossil fuel exporters, at €85.1 billion.
Russia raked in a whopping €158 billion in energy exports in six months following its invasion of Ukraine, with the EU accounting for more than half, says an article published in the Euractive.
Soaring gas prices
“Surging fossil fuel prices mean that Russia’s current revenue is far above previous years’ level, despite the reductions in this year’s export volumes,” said the Finland-based organisation.
Natural gas prices have recently soared to record levels in Europe as Russia chokes off supplies.
“Fossil fuel exports have contributed approximately €43 billion to Russia’s federal budget since the start of the invasion, helping fund war crimes in Ukraine,” said CREA.
While the EU banned Russian oil it did not adopt any limits on the imports of natural gas, upon which it is highly dependent. The ban went into effect as Russian coal exports fell to their lowest levels since the war began.
Fail to replace EU demand
“Russia failed to find other buyers to replace falling EU demand,” said the CREA. This called for stronger rules and enforcement concerning Russian oil exports, urging the EU and the UK to use their leverage in global shipping.
“The EU must ban the use of European-owned ships and European ports for shipping Russian oil to third countries, while the UK needs to stop allowing its insurance industry to participate in this trade,” said the CREA.
The G7 countries, meanwhile, vowed Friday to push forward urgently to impose a price cap on Russian crude, a move that would deprive Russia of much of the revenue it now makes from its oil exports.
The Western bans on Russian energy products are contributing to the price hikes that helped Moscow finance its war effort.
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Source: Euractive
