Following the further invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to use natural gas as a political and economic weapon.  Russia’s energy coercion has put pressure on energy markets, raised prices for consumers, and threatened global energy security. This was most recently demonstrated by the politically motivated acute disruptions of gas supplies to several European Union Member States. These actions only underscore the importance of the work both the United States and the European Commission are doing to end our reliance on Russian energy. We are also working together to find ways to further reduce Russia’s energy-derived revenues in the coming months to further curtail Russia’s ability to fund its unprovoked war in Ukraine. These actions are important, necessary, and immediate steps we can take, but we also recognize the enormity of the challenge is significant. To meet the challenge and support Europe’s efforts, we established on 25 March 2022 the Task Force on European Energy Security. Since then the United States and the European Commission have made important strides towards reducing the European Union’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels by decreasing natural gas demand, cooperating on energy efficiency technologies, and diversifying energy supplies. The United States and the European Commission are also taking decisive action to reduce overall demand for fossil fuels in line with the Paris Agreement and our shared goal of net zero emissions no later than 2050. 

The Task Force has met regularly to discuss options to reduce Europe’s demand for natural gas and has also met with key stakeholders to promote the deployment of heat pumps, smart thermostats, and energy demand response solutions.  We will encourage Member States and European and U.S. companies to reach an initial goal of deploying at least 1.5 million energy saving smart thermostats in European households this year.  In the coming days we will reconvene with Member States and stakeholders to discuss actionable policy recommendations to accelerate smart thermostat and heat pump deployment and production in an effort to ensure supply for key energy efficiency solutions are ramping to meet the growing demand. 

Complete statement:- https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/27/joint-statement-by-president-biden-and-president-von-der-leyen-on-european-energy-security/