John Kerry, the US president’s special climate envoy, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that countries such as Romania and Bulgaria could use natural gas to transition to clean energy sources if they take measures to capture emissions created by new developments , quoted by News.ro.

He also warned of “self-destructive choices” that would exacerbate the climate crisis.

“One of the solutions to the challenge of the likes of President (Vladimir) Putin is to make the (energy) transition faster,” John Kerry told Reuters in an interview in Bucharest after attending the Three Seas Initiative summit.

“In the discussions I’ve had with leaders in this region, they’ve been very aware that if they’re going to use fossil fuels, they have to fix emissions,” Kerry said, warning of a “pernicious” choice.

“Certainly, gas can be part of the transition because it’s cleaner than coal, cleaner than oil. But we must be sure that we are able to capture emissions,” he insisted.

Romania is looking to use nuclear power and natural gas to drive the energy transition, even as it uses EU funds to subsidize renewable energy projects.

The country has approximately 200 billion cubic meters of gas in the Black Sea, one of the most important natural gas deposits in the EU, which could help diversify supplies to the region after Russia’s war in Ukraine. Neighboring Bulgaria is also exploring on its continental shelf in the Black Sea, Reuters explains.

According to American emissary John Kerry, Europe is becoming stronger in the face of Russia’s attempts to turn energy into a weapon by moving faster to clean sources. Fossil fuels produced just 33% of the European Union’s electricity in the first half of this year, as the European bloc battles climate change and ends Russia’s dependence on fossil fuels. “Europe has done a pretty good job,” John Kerry said.

He also said that at this year’s UN climate change conference, which will include steps on a damage and loss fund for states affected by climate change, global ambitions to mitigate the effects of climate warming must be higher. Reuters (takeover of News.ro)