On Sunday, the G7 announced a commitment among its member states to end their “dependence on Russian energy, including by phasing out or banning Russian oil imports.”
In a new interview with Yahoo Finance Live on Monday, Deputy Finance Minister Wally Adeimo said the United States would do its part to help nations achieve that goal. “One of the things we are committed to doing is helping to provide energy for Europe,” to make the transition as quickly as possible, he said.
The move by the G-7 would be perhaps the most dramatic step so far to isolate Vladimir Putin and his economy from the West. But this will require countries with deep dependence on Russian energy – especially Germany – to rethink their economies and take a step they have not been able to take so far.
The G7 has promised to do so in a “timely and orderly manner”, but how exactly remains unclear.
Deputy Finance Minister Wally Adeimo, pictured at a press conference in Brussels in March, recently spoke about oil. (Dursun Aydemir / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
For now, Adeymo said, the Biden administration “is calling [U.S. oil] companies to produce more energy because we want to keep costs low ”before moving on to clean energy in the coming decades.
Also Sunday, the White House unveiled new sanctions against Russia, including actions against leaders of Gazprom and other companies to further punish Moscow for its war against Ukraine.
“This is exactly what we expect Europe to do.”
Adeyemo, who is the second commander in the finance ministry under Finance Minister Janet Yellen, said energy aid could look similar to previous efforts for coal and liquefied natural gas.
The United States has already banned imports of Russian oil, gas and coal, but diverting Germany from Russian energy will be more difficult. Of all the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – Germany is most committed to Russia, with Putin’s nation supplying more than a third of European gas and 34% of crude oil. Germany. oil in 2021
Adeyemo recently traveled to Berlin to discuss, among other topics, “ways to increase spending on Russia while mitigating side effects,” he said.
The story continues
The recent example of liquefied natural gas provides another warning note about the limits of how much energy America can provide. In March, the European Union and the United States unveiled an agreement to increase liquefied natural gas exports to Europe by at least 15 billion cubic meters by 2022. Supplies will help Europe buy less from Russia, but the total is far from enough. to offset the 155 billion cubic meters of natural gas imported from the country in 2021.
However, Adeyemo promised that Russia would feel the bite in oil exports in the coming months.
“During Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States, Europe and our allies around the world have taken steps to reduce resources for Russia to make sure they have less resources to wage war against Ukraine,” he said. “This is exactly what we expect Europe to do as part of our alliance.
Ben Vershkul is a writer and producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington, DC.
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