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

Other professional activities for which I have been paid or received a bonus since starting at Contexte
I have nothing to declare in this respect.
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Shares or debt in a company that may be subject to editorial coverage
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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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Current volunteer role in an association advocating public policy, regular donations and active affiliation with a political party or trade union
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Elected positions and posts
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*Relatives in the ascending or descending line, a spouse, a civil partner or a stable partner.

Their articles

How the EU ban on Russian gas imports will work How the EU ban on Russian gas imports will work
Anton Zubchevskyi/iStock
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
EUROPEAN UNION 2025

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
Christophe Licoppe/European Union, 2024.
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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