The EU’s New Energy and Climate Policy: Energy Security and the Moderation of Environmental Standards

Abstract

The article analyzes the evolution of the EU's energy and climate policy to explain that since Russia invaded Ukraine, a reformulation has occurred, characterized by the reconciliation of climate objectives with energy security and the flexibility of the environmental dimension. This rearrangement of the objectives of environmental policies has begun to take shape with the REPowerUE Plan, an energy package with which the EU intends to respond to the two dimensions of Europe's energy crisis: the need to deepen the transition towards climate neutrality and the duty to abandon dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. The review is based on two specific measures: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1214 and Council Regulation EU 2022/2577, key regulations for the massive deployment of renewable energies.