EU climate chief : Energy prices hike should boost transition

Timmermans said the price hikes in the energy sector should lead the bloc to accelerate the transition toward renewable energy.

The European Union's climate chief said on Tuesday that the 27-nation bloc should ensure that the most vulnerable people won't pay the heaviest price of the green transition, and pledged measures guaranteeing equal burden-sharing across society, amid a global surge of energy prices. “The one thing we cannot afford is for the social side to be opposed to the climate side. I see this threat very clearly now that we have a discussion about the price hike in the energy sector," said Frans Timmermans, the European Commission vice president in charge of climate issues. As the global demand for gas has soared, energy prices have surged across Europe at a time when the EU is pushing for a quick phasing-out of coal and the development of sustainable sources of energy. Carbon prices have rocketed in recent months, having an impact on electricity bills.