UK Edition
Europe is spending record amounts on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) even as the bloc tightens sanctions against the Kremlin, new analysis shows.
Global Witness said EU nations led by Spain and Belgium had spent nearly €5.3bn (£4.5bn) so far this year buying just over half of all Russia’s LNG stocks.
The campaign group said these countries were effectively “funding warmongering regimes” through the purchases of natural gas cooled into its liquid form.
The EU’s increase in LNG purchases stands in contrast to the UK, which has not imported any LNG from Russia so far this year.
The EU’s growing reliance on LNG risks undermining the bloc’s pledge to end its use of Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
The bloc has already banned seaborne Russian crude and oil imports and the flow of Russian gas via pipelines has been sharply curtailed.
However, purchases of LNG are not restricted and are running well above levels seen before the invasion of Ukraine.
EU countries bought 22 million cubic meters of LNG between January and July, according to Global Witness analysis based on data from industry analytics company Kpler. This is up 40pc compared with the same period in 2021.
EU countries now buy the majority of Russia’s LNG supply. Spain and Belgium were only beaten by China as the world’s biggest importers, with France, the Netherlands and Greece also big customers.
Jonathan Noronha-Gant, a senior campaigner at Global Witness, described the findings as both “a climate disaster and security risk, funding warmongering regimes and fuelling deadly extreme weather”.
He said: “Buying Russian gas has the same impact as buying Russian oil. Both fund the war in Ukraine, and every euro means more bloodshed. While European countries decry the war, they‘re putting money into Putin’s pockets.
“These countries should align their actions with their words by banning the trade of Russian LNG that is fueling both the war and the climate crisis.”
Kadri Simson, the EU’s energy commissioner, has urged member states and companies to stop buying Russian LNG, calling it a “reputational risk”.
Spanish energy minister Teresa Ribera has also pleaded with corporations not to sign new Russian LNG contracts. But she said that unless there were sanctions, EU companies that stopped buying Russian LNG could be forced to pay penalties for breaking their existing contracts.
“I think it should be part of the discussion in a sanctions package, because otherwise the situation is quite absurd,” Ms Ribera said in March.
Analysts have also warned that enforcing a ban would be challenging as it would be difficult to determine if LNG cargoes from other countries contained Russian gas.
Suppliers could also be deterred from sending cargoes to Europe if they were forced to provide documents proving their LNG is not Russian, potentially pushing up prices.
The EU’s 2027 deadline to end the use of Russian fossil fuels is intended to give some countries more time to wean themselves off, given Europe’s historic dependence on the country’s supplies.
In Britain, the US supplied half of the UK’s LNG in 2022, official data show, ending Qatar’s 13-year period as the largest LNG import source.