Green Deal, clean break: assessing securitization of clean energy transition in Europe in the process of energy decoupling from Russia

Abstract

The weaponisation of energy by Russia before and after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine has underscored the vulnerability of Europe's dependence on imported fossil fuels. This has catalysed a growing demand for a transition towards green energy, characterised by local sustainable energy productive and reduced vulnerability to energy market manipulation by external actors. Central to this transition is the European Green Deal, a comprehensive set of policy measures aimed at enabling the European Union to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This thesis investigated the impact of Russia's energy weaponisation and the war in Ukraine on the EU’s policy regarding the transition to clean and renewable energy sources, employing a conceptual framework of securitization using discourse analysis as the analytical framework. The primary objective was to assess whether the weaponisation of energy by Russia following the invasion of Ukraine has elevated the transition to clean energy from a climate sustainability issue to a security imperative for the European Union. Through a comprehensive analysis of European Commission’s policy proposals, this paper determined that the European Commission has successfully securitised the issue by framing Russian weaponisation of energy supply as an existential threat to be resolved with extraordinary measures aimed at expansion of clean energy transition initiatives in the EU. The continued securitisation of the European Green Deal may thus be crucial to ensuring the success of the clean energy transition in the European Union.