Harms said during a press conference at the Lithuanian Parliament that cutting consumption of fossil fuels and reducing carbon dioxide emissions is the main precondition for fighting climate change and striving for energy innovation. Harms said that gas extraction would not be necessary if all other alternatives were well-thought-out.
Lithuania’s Environment Minister Kęstutis Trečiokas announced in April that shale gas exploration tender in Šilutė-Tauragė region would be announced three months later. However, the prospect of shale gas extraction would depend on investor interest.
The European Union (EU) has committed to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2020, compared to the level of 1990. The European Commission prepared the energy security strategy, based on which the EU should reduce its energy consumption by a quarter, diversify its energy supply, cut consumption of fossil fuels and promote renewable energy.
Currently, the EU imports 53 percent of energy it consumes – 85 percent of oil, 67 percent of gas, 41 percent of solid fuels and 95 percent of uranium. The EU imports 35 percent of its oil, 26 percent of gas and 30 percent of coal from Russia.
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