Lithuania: When a Transition to Zero-Carbon Energy Is the Only Option

The chapter explains the reasons why Lithuania has decided to move from conventional to zero-carbon energy. For a long time, the biggest challenge for Lithuania was getting rid of its energy dependence on Russian gas and oil imports. With almost no hydrocarbon energy resources, Lithuania can rely only on diversification of energy imports and the development of renewable resources. Lithuanian society rejected the idea of building a new nuclear power plant in 2012, which forced the government to turn towards supporting renewable resource projects. The transformation of the electricity and heat sectors is quite impressive, considering the pace of changes. However, the transition to zero-carbon energy is still fragmented and unbalanced as other sectors (for instance, transport) are almost neglected.