ANALYSIS: Europe faces winter energy crunch, challenges may last for years
European nations are preparing for winter by adopting measures to lessen the impact of a lack of Russian natural gas on the continent.
ANALYSIS: Europe faces winter energy crunch, challenges may last for years
European nations are preparing for winter by adopting measures to lessen the impact of a lack of Russian natural gas on the continent. According to analysts, this year’s energy shortage may have long-term effects.
European nations established a target of filling natural gas storage facilities to at least 80% of capacity by November 1—the traditional start of the winter months—after gas supplies from Russia began to decline earlier this year. According to the most recent data, countries have surpassed that threshold, reaching 90 percent in early October and increasing since then.
Analysts claim that decreased natural gas consumption has helped increase storage levels. This has been attributed to a mixture of conservation efforts and exceptionally mild weather in the weeks preceding the deadline on November 1.
Massimo Nicolazzi, a senior advisor for the Italian Institute for International Political Studies’ (ISPI) Energy Security Program, stated that gas consumption in Europe was 25% lower in October than it was in the corresponding month last year.
The major challenges have not been overcome, even though large storage levels may help prevent rolling blackouts and rationing as some had anticipated.
According to a flash estimate released by Eurostat on Monday, inflation in the 19-member eurozone is predicted to reach a new high of 10.7 percent in October, a figure mostly driven by rising energy prices.
According to Nicolazzi, families, businesses, and energy producers use natural gas most frequently in Europe, and various measures are being taken by the nations to reduce this usage, including price controls, cooperative purchasing, and laws relating to energy storage.
Government efforts to address the energy issue in Europe, according to Antony Froggatt, deputy director and senior research fellow with the Environment and Society Program at Chatham House in London, have been a “mixed bag.”
Increased efficiency and public support for the development of renewable energy are outcomes of higher energy prices. The governments have been compelled to invest in gas liquefaction plants and discover alternative natural gas sources due to a haste to replace Russian gas, according to Froggatt.
But he also noted that there won’t be as much money available to encourage the use of cleaner energy sources because governments have already set aside at least 500 billion euros (494 billion U.S. dollars) to mitigate the effects of rising energy prices.
Froggatt told Xinhua that it “seems that for some policymakers, ensuring energy security trumps safeguarding the environment and combating climate change.”
According to Nicolazzi, the current energy crisis will not likely result in an improvement in renewable energy policy, but implementation may.
According to the “Fit for 55” initiative of the European Union (EU), which was approved last year, member states of the EU were required to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.
This was to be accomplished primarily by switching the generation of energy from conventional fossil fuel sources like gas, petroleum, and coal to renewables.
The “Fit for 55” initiative “cannot practically be more ambitious than it is,” Nicolazzi said, “but it can help create additional incentives for governments to take stronger actions to accomplish those targets.”
It will take time, according to Froggatt, to witness improvements in the continent’s energy culture.
“It will take time for new ideas and political support to come to fruition,” he added. “European markets were accustomed to receiving gas supply from Russia for a long period of time.” “Overcoming this winter’s obstacles is just the beginning.”
