Ciaran Sunderland

Ciaran Sunderland

Reporter, Energy

A journalist in Brussels since October 2021, I joined Contexte's English language Energy section in April 2025 after more than three years with the German Press Agency. 

As an EU and NATO correspondent, I covered everything from tech, climate, and environment, to migration, finance as well as foreign policy and economics.

I started my career with the Irish Examiner in Ireland and I am a graduate of Trinity College Dublin where I studied history and languages. 

 

csunderland@contexte.com

Disclosure of interests

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Current membership on the board of directors of a public or private organisation (association, company) that may be subject to editorial coverage
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*Relatives in the ascending or descending line, a spouse, a civil partner or a stable partner.

Their articles

Banning Russian fuel: The why, the when, the how Banning Russian fuel: The why, the when, the how
Video

Banning Russian fuel: The why, the when, the how

Watch the replay of our Contexte Live discussion on the EU’s plan to phase out gas, oil and nuclear imports from Moscow.
Russian fuels
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Russia sanctions
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Nuclear power
For and against: Where EU member states stand on the Russian gas ban For and against: Where EU member states stand on the Russian gas ban
Infographic

For and against: Where EU member states stand on the Russian gas ban

Just over three years after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission, on 17 June, proposed ambitious plans to phase out Russian gas. The European Parliament and Council are rushing to come to an agreement, ahead of a key January 2026 deadline. But the plans don’t affect all member states equally. Some are vocally in favour, while others are entrenched in their opposition. Gas flows, the ability and willingness to find other suppliers, legal risks and politics all play a major role. As talks advance, Contexte looks at the positions of twelve key EU countries, from Hungary to France.
Russian fuels
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Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
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Russia sanctions
Brussels steers back to energy gameplan, after US intermezzo Brussels steers back to energy gameplan, after US intermezzo
Darwel/iStock
Agenda

Brussels steers back to energy gameplan, after US intermezzo

With the roll-out of the clean industrial deal, new climate targets and ambitious plans to ban Russian fuels, Brussels was just getting started with its new energy roadmap when the US forced its hand, insisting on an exacting trade deal. The European Commission is now likely to spend the next few months trying to get back on track from that Trumpian manoeuvre.
Climate change
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Russian fuels
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Carbon border adjustment mechanism
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COP30 Brazil
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EU climate law
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EU-US relations
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Von der Leyen 2 Commission
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Energy transition
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Russia
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Industrial policy
Russia’s curious WTO challenge questions the climate credentials of a flagship EU policy Russia’s curious WTO challenge questions the climate credentials of a flagship EU policy
studiocasper/iStock

Russia’s curious WTO challenge questions the climate credentials of a flagship EU policy

Russia — despite, for some, being an unlikely champion of the rules-based international order — has challenged the EU’s carbon border levy, CBAM, at the World Trade Organization. In the wake of the Ukraine war, Brussels has imposed repeated rounds of sanctions on Russia, dulling the impact of any retaliatory tariffs Moscow might apply. But there’s still a healthy — and in some cases growing — trade in CBAM-affected goods, such as steel. Some wonder if Moscow also sees a chance to poke a finger in the EU’s eye, upending its claim to global climate leadership.
2040 climate target
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Emissions trading system (ETS)
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Russia sanctions
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Carbon border adjustment mechanism
The EU’s clean industrial subsidy framework leaves room for gas The EU’s clean industrial subsidy framework leaves room for gas

The EU’s clean industrial subsidy framework leaves room for gas

The European Commission released its highly anticipated subsidy framework on 25 June, setting out how EU state aid can be dished out for the next five years. The clean industrial state aid framework, a key plank of decarbonisation goals, covers everything from nuclear, to clean technology manufacturing, to de-risking private investments in energy infrastructure. Perhaps most controversially, it allows public subsidies to go to a fossil fuel, albeit setting a 2040 phase-out date.
Competition - Energy
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Natural gas
How the EU ban on Russian gas imports will work How the EU ban on Russian gas imports will work
In depth

How the EU ban on Russian gas imports will work

The European Commission made a legal proposal on 17 June to ban imports of Russian gas. It contains clear details on timelines and transparency and starts the clock ticking on what Brussels hopes will be an end to Europe’s energy ties with Moscow. Contexte looks at the gory details.
Russian fuels
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Natural gas
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Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
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Fossil fuels
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Energy security
Fit for 54: EU says it’s on track for 2030 climate target Fit for 54: EU says it’s on track for 2030 climate target

Fit for 54: EU says it’s on track for 2030 climate target

The European Commission’s analysis of National Energy and Climate Plans puts the bloc within a whisker of its goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. The figures are an improvement on a previous December 2023 assessment — but the rosy headline masks significant shortfalls in areas such as transport, buildings and energy efficiency.
EU climate law
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Renewables
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Electricity
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Energy networks
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Greenhouse gases
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Energy security
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Climate change
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CO2 emissions
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Fossil fuels
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Solar power
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Energy policy
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Electricity markets
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Energy consumption
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Energy efficiency
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Emissions reduction
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Energy union
‘If need be, we will go it alone’: EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan on the Russian oil price cap, post-Trump ‘If need be, we will go it alone’: EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan on the Russian oil price cap, post-Trump
Interview

‘If need be, we will go it alone’: EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan on the Russian oil price cap, post-Trump

As the EU prepares its eighteenth package of restrictive measures on Russia, David O’Sullivan — the former European Commission Secretary-General and EU ambassador to the US who was appointed EU Sanctions Envoy in January 2023 — discusses the bid to make oil exports ‘more expensive, more complicated, less profitable,’ the security issues posed by oil tankers in the Russian shadow fleet, and the ‘conflicting noises’ that now come from the US.
Russian fuels
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EU-US relations
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Baltic Sea infrastructure
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Russia sanctions
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Energy prices
Brussels doesn’t want the sun to set on solar production Brussels doesn’t want the sun to set on solar production
Douglas Rissing/iStock

Brussels doesn’t want the sun to set on solar production

Legal plans published on 23 May are part of Brussels’ ‘European preference’ strategy to strengthen domestic solar panel makers who face tough Chinese competition. After tariffs failed, and without major subsidies on offer, sceptics wonder if that approach might prove too little, too late to save an ailing European industry.
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