Europe’s ‘staggering’ clean power gains undermined by failure to phase out fuel-burning machines

Europe has achieved significant progress in expanding renewable power capacity, adding nearly enough solar panels and wind turbines annually to meet green targets, but it has lagged in electrifying transport, buildings, and industry, leaving fuel-burning machines entrenched. This disconnect exposes households to high energy bills amid soaring oil and gas prices driven by the ongoing Middle East conflict and disrupted supply routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. Adrian Hiel, director of the Electrification Alliance, highlights that while the EU's power supply has radically transformed, the next critical phase is deploying clean electricity directly into everyday energy consumption to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. The group advocates lowering electricity taxes, currently higher than fossil fuel levies, to accelerate this transition, a stance echoed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who plans to mandate lower electricity tax rates than fossil fuels. The current geopolitical tensions, including the US-Israel conflict with Iran and attacks on key LNG suppliers like Qatar, are causing gas prices to remain elevated, pressuring governments to provide household subsidies. However, this may constrain public funds available to support electrification efforts at home. The fall in clean technology costs now makes home electrification financially accessible, evidenced by Hiel's personal upgrades with heat pumps and solar panels, which insulated him from energy price shocks. This ongoing challenge underlines the strategic need for policy focus beyond renewable generation to include aggressive electrification of end-use sectors, which could serve as a crucial hedge against volatile fossil fuel markets and strengthen energy security in the near-to-medium term.