Over the last couple decades, more and more individuals have become concerned with the environment and the energy sources that we all use. All over the world countries are transitioning to renewable resources and increasing their own independence from foreign energy. However, this transition is not as easy as we all wish it was, meaning many countries still have a high level of dependence on energy imports. The European Union (EU) falls under this category. According to numbers provided by the EU’s official website, the level of import dependency was upwards of 60% when it comes to EU energy. This means that over half of the energy consumed in the EU comes from imported sources and this is a large issue for the EU. In fact, the issue of import dependency has increased a couple percent since the early portion of the 2000s. You would think that this wouldn’t be the case with the increase in renewable energy production over the same time period, but some countries do not have the necessary sources of energy to switch to renewables. Some countries do not have wind that blows enough or water that flows quick enough for these energy sources to be sustainable. Another issue that relates back to dependency on imports is that of price. Prices are up and down making it rather difficult to plan everything out accordingly. Also, according to the EU official website, there is a growing issue of global energy demand. Every day that goes by features new discoveries and new technology. This technology requires some form of energy to work. Computers, cell phones, and tablets, all of which have become staples of our everyday lives, are becoming more and more powerful, requiring more and more energy. These devices are supposed to be energy efficient, but half the time they really aren’t too efficient, especially when we must keep rechargingthem since we use them so much. In fact, the EU’s official website lists the slow progress of energy efficiency as one of the main issues that they face. With technology advancing every day, energy efficiency should be going up faster, but it is not. Thanks to all these seemingly smaller issues, there is a much larger, overarching issue that sticks out. That is the issue of energy security. Any country or region with as much import dependency as the EU has will have this issue. This is on top of the fact that the EU is the biggest energy customer in the world. Because of this very high level of import dependency, the EU’s future is hindered. When so much money is being spent on energy sources, it is rather difficult to invest in renewables and other energy sources that might lead to independence. As time goes on, the EU must do a better job to advance into the future. This will take much time and much dedication, but it can be done. It must be done.
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