President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are calling on major energy producers to come to Europe’s aid in response to the prospective Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The two leaders said in a joint statement on Friday that they seek to insulate markets from price shocks, “including those that could result from a further Russian invasion of Ukraine,” as Russia is responsible for around 40% of the bloc’s natural gas supply.
“We call on all major energy producer countries to join us in ensuring world energy markets are stable and well-supplied,” they said.
The White House had gone into deeper detail earlier this week about how it’s working to help insulate the European Union against high gas prices, which were a major problem even before the Russia-Ukraine escalation.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that the administration is asking friends in North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to provide more gas to Europe.
Biden will also host Qatari head of state Tamim bin Hamad al Thani on Tuesday, Psaki announced. Qatar is a top-three global exporter of liquefied natural gas.
The United States is already the EU’s largest supplier of LNG, and the domestic industry is producing and shipping LNG at record pace.
In December, the U.S. shipped more LNG around the world than any other exporter, moving into the No. 1 slot for the first time.
Biden, who campaigned on transitioning the U.S. away from the use of fossil fuels and taking steps to limit domestic production in the years ahead, in the statement with von der Leyen emphasized the benefits of non-Russian gas, saying that LNG “in the short-term can enhance security of supply while we continue to enable the transition to net zero emissions.”
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But they also said the EU’s pursuit of expanding gas supplies will be undertaken “in a manner compatible with long-term climate goals and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050,” a notion under intense debate right now among member nations.
Leaders will continue working on the problem, Biden and von der Leyen said, including at a joint U.S.-EU Energy Council meeting on Feb. 7.
