LONDON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Europe has made a major mistake by failing to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels quickly enough since the 2022 energy crisis, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol has recently warned.
According to a report published by the Financial Times (FT) on Saturday, Birol said Europe's relatively low level of electrification is undermining the bloc's competitiveness and economic sovereignty.
Electricity accounts for about 23 percent of the European Union's final energy consumption, a level comparable to that of the United States despite Europe's much heavier dependence on imported fossil fuels.
Birol said Europe should have responded more decisively after the 2022 gas crisis and should seek to raise its electrification rate.
The FT reported that the European Commission is expected to unveil a package of measures in coming days aimed at accelerating electrification across the bloc.
The proposals include encouraging members to reduce electricity taxes and provide incentives for households to adopt heat pumps, electric vehicles and other green technologies.
Birol also warned that insufficient grid capacity is slowing Europe's electrification.
Although the bloc installed a record 85 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity last year, around 600 gigawatts of completed renewable projects are still waiting to be connected to the power grid, according to the report. ■