Brussels, 24 August 2026
In a video message to the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) Conference, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe must accelerate the shift to clean, homegrown electricity to reduce its vulnerability to fossil fuel supply and price shocks. She highlighted the Commission’s Grids Package and Electrification Action Plan, which targets a 46% electricity share in total energy use by 2040, alongside deeper EU-Norway cooperation on carbon capture and storage.
5 take-aways
- 46% electrification target by 2040: Von der Leyen said the EU’s Electrification Action Plan aims for electricity to account for 46% of total energy use by 2040, substantially increasing the role of electricity in transport, heating and industry.
- Fossil fuel dependence remains a strategic vulnerability: The Commission President argued that Europe will remain exposed to energy supply disruptions and price shocks as long as it depends heavily on fossil fuels.
- More than 70% of EU electricity came from clean sources last year: Von der Leyen said clean sources supplied more than 70% of EU electricity, while wind and solar together generated more power than all fossil fuels combined for the first time.
- EU grids need major expansion and modernisation: The proposed Grids Package is intended to prepare European energy infrastructure for much higher electricity demand and enable a more deeply electrified economy.
- Norway cooperation extends from energy security to carbon storage: Von der Leyen highlighted cross-border CO₂ storage beneath the North Sea as an example of European clean-tech industrial cooperation. With EU support, the project is being expanded to store more than five million tonnes of CO₂ annually.
E-Summary by ChatGPT, prompted by Insight EU, based on the video message below
Video message by President von der Leyen at the ONS Conference
“Check against delivery”
Ladies and gentlemen,
For more than fifty years, ONS has brought together governments and industry to tackle the world’s energy challenges. Today, that mission matters more than ever.
In just five years, the world has faced two major energy crises. Europe has weathered these storms because we acted together. We diversified supplies with trusted partners – with Norway at the heart of this effort. We worked with industry to keep homes heated and hospitals running in Ukraine. And through coordinated action after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we helped to stabilise markets and reassure citizens and businesses. The global energy system has proved more resilient than many expected. And this was thanks to the kind of cooperation that ONS has always championed.
But this cannot be a moment for complacency. As long as Europe remains dependent on fossil fuels, we remain vulnerable. That is why we are accelerating the transition to clean, homegrown energy.
This is already making a difference. Last year, over 70% of the EU’s electricity came from clean sources. And for the first time, wind and solar alone generated more electricity than all fossil fuels combined. This progress was vital to cushion the impact of the last energy crisis.
But producing more clean electricity is only half the task. We must also use it. Today, electricity accounts for less than a quarter of our final energy consumption. We need more of our mobility, our heating, and our industries to run on clean homegrown electricity. We are putting the foundations of an electrified economy in place.
We have proposed a Grids Package to make Europe’s energy infrastructure fit for the electrification age. And last month, we set out an Electrification Action Plan. It sets an ambitious target. That 46% of our total energy should come from electricity by 2040. This is how we end our exposure to fossil fuel price shocks for good.
Finally, we must develop the technologies that make the clean transition possible. Here again, we are strongest when we work together. Take our cooperation with Norway. Just a few hundred kilometres from where you are today, CO₂ captured from industries across Europe is being safely stored beneath the seabed. It is a powerful example of European innovation becoming an industrial reality.
And with support from the European Union, this project is now expanding to store more than five million tonnes of CO₂ every year. This is exactly what the clean transition should look like. Combining our strengths to cut emissions, create new industries, and strengthen our competitiveness. So that the next generation of clean technologies are not only used in Europe, but are designed and built here.
Ladies and gentlemen,
ONS has always been more than a place to discuss the future of energy. It is a place to shape it. The world needs your ideas, your technologies, and your investments. So that together, we can build the energy system of the future.
Thank you and I wish you a successful summit.
Source – EU Commission