11 June 2026
Europe’s final fossil fuel crisis: an open letter to EU leaders
Ahead of the European Council on 18-19 June 2026, a broad coalition of signatories is calling on European leaders to seize this moment and make it Europe’s last fossil fuel crisis.
In this letter, a coalition of unions, consumer groups, clean energy industry players, civil society groups and academia argue that Europe’s economic security, industrial competitiveness, and resilience to price shocks cannot be guaranteed while the continent remains structurally tied to imported fossil fuels.
Europe has the technologies, the public support, industrial knowhow, and the policy tools to lead this transformation. What is needed now is the political resolve to deliver it.
The signatories urge EU institutions and national governments to act across four priorities: accelerating electrification and industrial modernisation; providing long-term regulatory certainty for clean energy investment; establishing a strategic framework for fossil fuel independence; and mobilising public and private finance at the scale the challenge demands.
Manon Dufour, Executive Director of E3G’s Brussels office, said:“The breadth of support behind this call sends a clear message to European leaders. From industry associations and investors to workers’ representatives and environmental organisations, there is growing consensus that Europe’s future prosperity depends on accelerating electrification and systematically reducing fossil fuel dependence. Next week’s European Council is a crucial moment for leaders to match that consensus with the political ambition needed to deliver for Europeans.”
Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary at industriAll Europe:“Europe cannot respond to the industrial and energy crisis by retreating — we must invest our way forward. Workers are calling for a European energy strategy that guarantees affordable, stable and clean energy for both industry and households. Investing in home-grown clean energy and infrastructure is not only about climate action; it is about security, resilience, prosperity and creating quality jobs across Europe. Public money must come with public value: every subsidy, state aid measure and investment must include strong social conditionalities and local content requirements to ensure that taxpayers’ money delivers decent jobs, fair wages, industrial capacity and a just transition for workers and communities.”