The CEO of Portuguese utility EDP has linked rapid adoption of renewables to Europe’s energy independence, telling CNBC that investment in the sector needed to be “much faster”.

“These are [indigenous] … the resources – wind, solar – that we have in Europe,” said Miguel Stilwell de Andrade, speaking to “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday morning. “Thus, we would become less dependent on external energy sources, be it gas or coal.”

“I think the answer is, actually, we need to step up and do it much faster, especially on the renewables side,” he added.

The executive’s comments come at a time when tensions between Russia and Ukraine have pushed energy independence talks to the forefront of many people’s minds.

Russia was the biggest supplier of petroleum oils and natural gas to the European Union last year, according to Eurostat.

By 2030, the EU, of which Portugal is a member, wants to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55%. In terms of renewables in its energy mix, it has been proposed to raise the current target of at least 32% by 2030 to at least 40%.

“To increase the EU’s energy independence, we must continue to invest in renewable energy sources, but we must also do more to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels,” said the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU.

“We have ambitious goals in Europe in general, in terms of what we want to do,” de Andrade said, referring to the Paris Agreement.

Adopted in 2015, the agreement aims to “limit global warming to well below 2, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels”.

For his part, de Andrade said the trick was “to accelerate this on the ground, translate this into national plans, translate this into concrete projects on the ground”.

“And for that, we also need much more nimble and much faster permits and licenses for renewable projects,” he said. “We need to make sure that the networks invest in making these interconnections.”

“And if we can do that, if we can really pick up that pace, we’ll get cheaper energy [that’s] reliable, and also be more energy independent.”

As a company, EDP wants to be coal-free by 2025 and aims to have 100% of its electricity production based on renewable energy by 2030.

On Friday, the company reported net profit of 657 million euros ($746.1 million) for 2021, down 18% year-on-year. EDP ​​said it was “penalized by non-recurring effects of 169 million [euros]including impairments of thermal assets in the Iberian Peninsula.”

“Excluding these impacts, net recurring income increased by 6% [year-on-year] at 826m [euros]supported by the strong performance of renewables globally, the integration of Viesgo in Spain and the growth of grids activity in Brazil,” he said. Viesgo is a company specializing in the distribution of electricity.

EDP ​​said its performance in 2021 was also affected by higher wholesale energy prices and below-average hydro resources in the Iberian Peninsula.