#EU LNG crisis | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theculturedmarxist · 1 year

Text

I’m sure everyone’s a bit Davos’d out, but as I read the WEF and Ukraine news this week, I couldn’t help but connect the WEF ideology to Europe’s self-immolation. It’s also interesting to contrast WEF ideas for societal organization to those laid out in today’s piece from Linda M. Nicholas and Gary M. Feinman who argue what made the ancient city Monte Albán so long-lasting and broadly successful was its relative equality in lifestyle, its collective action, and localized economic production.

A commonly asked question ever since NATO’s war against Russia in Ukraine really kicked off last February is why on earth would Europe go along with the American neocons in their policies that are driving Europe towards deindustrialization and a long-lasting energy crisis while the US reaps the rewards in LNG exports.? After all, these are some of the same countries that said no to Iraq and watched Washington bungle that job, as well as Afghanistan and its regime change efforts in Syria. From Wolfgang Streeck:

This makes it all the more amazing that European countries should, apparently without any debate, have so completely left the handling of Ukraine to the United States. In effect, this represents a principal turning the management of his vital interests over to an agent with a recent public record of incompetence and irresponsibility.

Could European leaders not see that the Ukrainian proxy war plan was a shortsighted one that would decimate their economies? Politico reported the following last week:

At their final summit of 2022 in December, EU leaders insisted they had heard the call. The meeting produced an instruction to the European Commission to rapidly draw up proposals “with a view to mobilizing all relevant national and EU tools” to address the dual energy and competitiveness crises hitting European industry. The issue is due to dominate an EU leaders’ summit scheduled for February 9-10.

Did it truly take European leaders 10 months to come to grips with this fact? Or is it possible that they simply not care? Davos is a reminder of these leaders’ vision of the world, which is encapsulated by the WEF and its idea of a trans-national capitalist elite. National industry is an outdated concept to them, and Russia represents an existential threat to their ideology of oligarchic rule. The WEF essentially acts as a capitalist and war consulting firm and a gigantic lobby. Diana Johnstone, former press secretary of the Green Group in the European Parliament, writes:

[The WEF] is powerful today because it is operating in an environment of State Capitalism, where the role of the State has been largely reduced to responding positively to the demands of such lobbies, especially the financial sector. Immunized by campaign donations from the obscure wishes of ordinary people, most of today’s politicians practically need the guidance of lobbies such as the WEF to tell them what to do.

On top of such guidance, the WEF Young Global Leaders program helps spread this slime throughout the European halls of power. Here’s a list of those I could find who are currently in European government or other notable positions, and there are no doubt many more:

Alexander De Croo, prime minister of Belgium

Emmanuel Macron, president of France

Sanna Marin, the Finnish prime minister

Annika Saarikko, FInland minister of finance

Annalena Baerbock, German foreign minister

Amélie de Montchalin, French minister for the environmental transition and territorial cohesion

Tomas Pojar, Czech foreign minister

Virginijus Sinkevičius, European commissioner for the environment

Eva Maydell, member of the European Parliament from Belgium; her big priority is pushing a digital single market

Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach

Lea Wermelin, Danish Minister for the Environment

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was only nominated for a WEF global leader of tomorrow spot, but he’s been trying to prove his worth ever since.

Chrystia Freeland, she’s deputy prime minister of Canada, but included here because of her synergy with Victoria Nuland and her fascist goals abroad, especially in Ukraine

Kalin Anev Janse is the Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Management Board of the European Stability Mechanism, which works to force austerity and privatization onto eurozone countries.

Klaus Regling, who was head of the European Stability Mechanism from its inception in 2012 until last year.

Dr. Katarzyna Pisarska, the Founder and Director of the Visegrad School of Political Studies, which brings together young politicians, civil society activists, journalists and civil servants from the countries of the Visegrád Group. You might know the Visegrad Group from its Twitter account Visegrad24 that celebrates certain elements of Ukraine’s military:

And there are hundreds more young global leaders in finance, NGOs, media, academia, and lower levels of government, almost all of them working hand in glove to realize their common beliefs that are generally neoliberal, corporatist, undemocratic, and exhibit a disdain for the working class. Do these “global leaders” really care if what’s left of their countries’ industry needs to be relocated to the US or elsewhere? After all, to them national sovereignty is outdated. As Thomas Fazi writes at Unherd:

Samuel Huntington, who is credited with inventing the term “Davos man”, argued that members of this global elite “have little need for national loyalty, view national boundaries as obstacles that thankfully are vanishing, and see national governments as residues from the past whose only useful function is to facilitate the elite’s global operations”.

The “Davos man” also believes that the working class will soon be replaced by Artificial Intelligence. He has been outsourcing jobs for years, and thinks further deindustrialization will help the green transition. Johnstone describes how the WEF-influenced Greens in Germany want to remake the country’s industry:

The Greens have not forgotten the environment, and see “climate neutrality” as the “great opportunity for Germany as an industrial location.” The development of “climate protection technologies” should “provide impetus for new investments.” Their program calls for creation of a “digital euro,” secure mobile “digital identities” and “digital administrative services.”

Indeed, the Green economic program sounds very much like the Great Reset advocated by the World Economic Forum at Davos, with a new economy centered on climate change, artificial intelligence and digitalization of everything.

Here is Young Global Leader and current German foreign minister from the Green Party Annalena Baebock explaining why she doesn’t listen to Germans’ concerns over job losses or freezing to death:

Vladimir Putin was also a WEF Young Global Leader. Here’s Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the WEF and man with the plan to discard rule by the people in favor of rule by corporate interests, bragging that Putin was a member of his Young Global Leaders program:

youtube

They don’t advertise that so much anymore, as Putin became a traitor to the WEF cause. Russia was a major topic of discussion at this year’s Davos gathering, which was themed “cooperation in a fragmented world,” by which they mean the world is now fragmented due to Russia and China’s refusal to bend the knee. Both Moscow and Beijing represent an existential threat to the WEF ideology because as Michael Hudson has explained time and again, the true battle being waged is between financial oligarchy on behalf of the Davos crowd and a mixed public-private economy in places like Russia, China, and elsewhere in the global south.

The fragmentation of western societies was not on the agenda, but European polls clearly show a break.

In the EU Key Challenges of Our Times autumn poll, 70 percent of working class respondents believe the war in Ukraine has had serious financial consequences for them personally; only 49 percent of upper class respondents believe the same. Forty-five percent of working class respondents are satisfied with the EU involvement in Ukraine; 71 percent of the upper class is.

These numbers are remarkable when considering the unprecedented propaganda campaign in Europe. As Wolfgang Streeck puts it in New Left Review, in Germany any questioning of the war is silenced even as the threat of nuclear annihilation grows:

Those disposed to undertake a close reading of the public pronouncements of the governing coalition of the willing can recognize traces of debates going on behind the scenes, over how best to prevent the Great Unwashed getting in the way of what may be coming to them. On 21 September, one of the chief editors of FAZ, Berthold Kohler, a hardliner if there ever was one, noted that even among Western governments ‘the unthinkable is no longer considered impossible’. Rather than allowing themselves to be blackmailed, however, Western ‘statesmen’ have to muster ‘more courage… if the Ukrainians insist on liberating their entire country’, an insistence that we have no right to argue with. Any ‘arrangement with Russia at the expense of the Ukrainians’ would amount to ‘appeasement’ and ‘betray the West’s values and interests’, the two happily converging. To reassure those of his readers who would nevertheless rather live for their families than die for Sevastopol – and who had hitherto been told that the entity called ‘Putin’ is a genocidal madman entirely impervious to rational argument – Kohler reports that in Moscow there is sufficient fear of ‘the nuclear Armageddon in which Russia and its leaders would burn as well’ for the West to support to the hilt the Zelensky view of the Ukrainian national interest.

The peoples’ lack of support to “die for Sevastopol” is similar to their unwillingness to go along with plans to destroy their lives and enslave them to a techno-capitalist system of exploitation, which is perhaps why plans like this are being floated:

European polls show major divergence on labor issues, such as 52 percent of the working class rating fair working conditions as the most important to the EU’s social and economic development. Only 30 percent of the upper class feels the same way. And 66 percent of the EU working class feel their quality of life is getting worse; only 38 percent of the upper class feel the same way.

One need look no further for fragmentation between the WEF elite and working stiffs than Young Global Leader and French President Emmanuel Macron who is treated like royalty in Davos while back in France he’s faced nearly four years of gilets jaunes protests against his austerity and neoliberal policies, and some French can’t bear the sight of him:

youtube

And another:

youtube

They rolled out Henry Kissinger at Davos so he could tell the .001 percent they’ve been right all along about Ukraine, and they should now double down by rushing the country into NATO. The 99-year-old apparently wants to add to his 3-4 million body count before he kicks the bucket. As Spencer Ackerman writes:

The elite of the World Economic Forum consult one of the architects of today’s world to guide them out of the polycrisis he played a role in creating. And he inevitably reinforces the convictions of this same class, who most benefit from the way the world currently is, that they and they alone hold the keys to responsibly guiding the world out of the polycrisis. And if they further extract wealth from the wreckage of a polycrisis-wracked world, who’s to say there’s anything wrong with that? Certainly no one at Davos.

Even if these like-minded leaders lay waste to Europe, they probably think they can follow in the path of one of the WEF Young Leader trailblazers: former British Prime Minister and war criminal Tony Blair. After he left government he began “operating a dizzying, and often overlapping, web of charities, firms, and foundations that have catapulted him to the status of one of Britain’s wealthiest people.”

He travels around giving interviews warning against the dangers of populism and free public services – a task that is no doubt more difficult with Jeffrey Epstein’s “Lolita Express” no longer offering him free rides.

The problem is that before these people can cash in à la Blair, they just might get us all killed first. As Patrick Lawrence wrote at Consortium News after Angela Merkel’s (another WEF Global Leader for Tomorrow) revelations that the Minsk Accords were simply a ruse intended to buy time for Ukraine to prepare for war:

A measure of trust was essential between Washington and Moscow even during the Cold War’s most perilous passages. The Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved as it was because U.S. President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet premier, Nikita Khrushchev, were able sufficiently to trust one another. This trust no longer exists, as Putin and other Russian officials have made clear in responding to publication of the two German interviews.

Moscow and Beijing have said repeatedly since Joe Biden assumed office not quite two years ago that there is no trusting the Americans. The follow-on thought is that there is no point negotiating with them in a diplomatic context. For various Russian officials, from Putin on over and down, Merkel’s revelations seem grimly to have confirmed these conclusions.

It is a major turn that Moscow now includes the Europeans, and especially the Germans, in this assessment. Germany now tells the lies of which the American empire is made — a matter of anxiety and sadness all at once. If scorched-earth diplomacy is a fitting name for what the West has been up to in its dealings with Russia since 2014, as I think it is, the German bridge between West and East has been burnt.

The gravity of these conclusions, the implications as we face forward, are immense for the West and non–West alike. A world replete with hostilities is one we all know. A world devoid of trust and talking will prove another matter.

#world economic forum #davos #davos world economic forum #davos man #ukraine conflict #world war 3 #WEF #Youtube

28 notes · View notes

zvaigzdelasas · 2 years

Text

The European Union is planning a five-fold increase in financial support to an African military mission in Mozambique, an internal EU document shows, as Islamist attacks threaten gas projects meant to reduce the EU's reliance on Russian energy.

The energy squeeze due to the Ukraine war has added impetus to Europe's scramble for gas off Mozambique's northern coast, where Western oil firms are planning to build a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

The move also comes as the West seeks to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the southern African nation, three years after Russian private military firm Wagner withdrew most of its forces following a string of defeats by Islamist militants. A southern African military mission and a separate intervention by troops from Rwanda have between them managed to contain the militants' spread since being deployed last year.[...]

Mozambique has been grappling with militants linked to the Islamic State in its northernmost gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado since 2017, near LNG projects worth billions of dollars.

The mission is expected to be extended for six or twelve months at a SADC summit in Kinshasa starting on Wednesday, according to the document, which adds that EU support for the Rwandan mission would also be proposed in the coming months.

An EU spokesperson confirmed additional financial support to the SADC mission had been proposed, but declined to comment further as the matter was still being discussed by EU governments.[...]

A SADC official also confirmed a request for EU support, but added SADC countries would continue to provide key financial support to the mission. French oil giant Total (TTEF.PA) is leading an international consortium to extract gas off north Mozambique's shores and liquefy it at an LNG plant under construction, from where it would be exported to Europe and Asia. Mozambique has the third largest proven gas reserves in Africa, after Nigeria and Algeria. The EU fears that without support for the military interventions, Mozambique may again lose control of its restive north. The EU has already pledged to provide the country's army with an additional 45 million euros ($45 million) of financial support, and has so far made available to the SADC mission 2.9 million euros of funding [...] Despite delays caused by militant activity, Total still plans to begin production in 2024 from gas reserves estimated in trillions of cubic feet (tcf), more than the amount of gas the EU imports annually from Russia.

Italian oil firm ENI (ENI.MI) expects to begin shipments from a nearby offshore gas field this year, using a floating LNG terminal which can process only limited amounts of gas.

Other major oil firms, including U.S. giant ExxonMobil (XOM.N) are also operating in the region.

The funding is also meant to discourage local authorities from seeking help again from Russia, or from China.

The EU is also supporting the training of Mozambique military forces through its own defence mission in the country.

16 Aug 22

20 notes · View notes

beardedmrbean · 2 years

Text

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment plans to launch a campaign in August asking people living in Finland to save energy.

The ministry confirmed to Yle that the campaign is being prepared, but did not comment further about its content.

However the ministry did note that the campaign stems from an EU Commission initiative. Similar campaigns are already underway in many EU countries like Germany, Italy and France.

In Finland, the campaign will be announced at the end of August and rolled out towards autumn—when heating and fewer daylight hours start to demand more energy.

The campaign will focus on heating and hot water consumption, according to one of the campaign's planners, Päivi Suur-Uski, anenergy efficiency expert from the firm Motiva.

"The energy saving measures taken by consumers are effective. In Finland, about a third of energy use goes into heating buildings," Suur-Uski told Yle.

Suur-Uski added that reducing a home's heating thermostat temperature by one degree corresponds to energy savings of up to five percent.

"We also have a lot of heated spaces, such as garages and warehouses, that don't necessarily need to be heated," Suur-Uski pointed out.

Hot water's share in heating costs can be up to 30-40 percent of the total bill.

"Limiting shower time is a quick way to reduce energy consumption. Let's forget about fifteen minute showers and spend no more than five minutes there," Suur-Uski emphasised.

She estimated that with effective saving, households could cut a total of around 10-20 percent of their total energy usage.

"It would have a huge impact nationally," Suur-Uski concluded.

Last campaign: Oil crisis of the 1970s

The last time a similar campaign was undertaken was during the global oil crisis in the 1970s.

Back then, the government outlined, among other things, that room temperatures should be lowered, advertising lights reduced and road traffic speeds cut to 80 kilometres per hour.

The efforts helped Finland to decrease its oil consumption by more than 10 percent annually.

Lack of energy in autumn?

Senior advisor Oras Tynkkynen, from sustainable development firm Sitra, considered it possible that there will be an energy shortage in the autumn. There is a chance that controlled, two-hour blackouts may be used as a last resort.

"In the worst case scenario, we have to decide to whom the energy is directed to. Energy supply would be secured for hospitals, for example, but parts of the industrial sector could be cut off for some time," Tynkkynen estimated.

The adequate supply of electricity depends, among other things, on whether the new nuclear power plant Olkiluoto 3 can be put into full commercial use by winter. The supply of natural gas, on the other hand, depends on the schedule of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal shared by Finland and Estonia.

"We have to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst, and also for the energy supply to be seriously disrupted," Tynkkynen told Yle.

#nunyas news #this is gonna be a massive bitch when it starts up #make sure you've all got lots of jackets and dry socks #updates from up north

9 notes · View notes

mariacallous · 2 years

Text

Spain and France have struck a new deal to build an underwater gas pipeline from Barcelona to Marseille, cancelling a long-stalled pipeline project that would have connected the countries through the Pyrenees.

The pipeline will allow Spain and Portugal, two leading importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), to bring their excess supplies to France and other European countries.

LNG has become the go-to commodity to replace the vast volumes of Russian gas that the Kremlin has cut off since launching the invasion of Ukraine.

The European Union is trying to secure as much LNG as commercially possible in order to make it through the winter without major power blackouts or gas rationing.

The deal was announced on Thursday by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, French President Emmanuel Macron and Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, ahead of an EU summit in Brussels, where the energy crisis will be the top topic.

"This is very good news for Europe," Sánchez told reporters, before heading into the meeting. "This solidarity is coherent with our green transition."

"The objective is to be better connected to the rest of the continent for Spain and Portugal," Macron said.

The deal means that the MidCat project is officially abandoned, the leaders confirmed.

The 226-kilometre-long pipeline was supposed to connect Spain's gas network to France's by crossing through the Pyrenees, from Hostalric, in Catalonia, to Barbaira, in Southern France.

MidCat had been stalled since 2019, when an independent report cast doubt over the pipeline's price and profitability. But the war in Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis injected new momentum and fuelled calls from Madrid and Lisbon to complete the project.

Macron, however, remained opposed, arguing the pipeline was too costly, unaligned with the EU's green ambitions and unable to transport electricity.

The French leader also said that two existing pipelines that cross from Spain into France through the Basque Country were being used only at "50% to 60%" of their total capacity.

The German government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which is seeking to replace Russian gas, also pushed for the pipeline's completion. Thursday's deal puts an end to the months-long tensions.

Instead of the underground MidCat, the countries will build a brand-new underwater pipeline, dubbed BarMar, connecting Barcelona with Marseille.

The infrastructure could be operational by the end of the decade, officials told Euronews.

The pipeline will initially carry gas, a polluting fossil fuel that contributes to climate change, but will be gradually filled with green hydrogen and other "renewable gases," although the commercial viability of these products is still an open question.

At the same time, Spain and Portugal commit to finish another gas interconnection, named CelZa, between Celourico da Beira and Zamora.

Additionally, Spain and France will aim to complete a new electricity connection through the Bay of Biscay, while working to identify similar projects.

Sánchez, Macron and Costa will meet again on 9 December to determine the financing details of the BarMar project. The Spanish government had previously suggested that any new connection with France would require EU funds due to its cross-border dimension.

2 notes · View notes

thegeopolitical · 2 years

Text

Nord Stream pipeline sabotage

"A crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Europe found evidence of detonations, strengthening suspicions of "gross sabotage", Sweden's Security Service said on Thursday." Source

⚡️ President Biden confesses intention to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines

⚡️ Russian is not allowed to investigate the incident themselves

⚡️ Sweden denied joint investigation request from Germany and Denmark

⚡️ Sweden unwilling to share Nord Stream investigation findings

⚡️ US raised LNG prices and sales after Nord Stream gas leaks

⚡️ Former German Chancellor defends RU gas as cheapest and most reliable

Consequences

US is behind the sabotage. The goal is to collapse and weaken Europe with the energy crises. Forcing sanctions on Russia down the throat, even against EU’s (who is acting as a puppet) own interests.

⚡️ German health minister warns of hospital closures due to energy crisis

⚡️ Over 15,000 German stores are facing bankruptcy due to soaring energy costs

⚡️ Moldova amid a potential devastating energy crisis: attempted solutions and policies

#ukraine #russia #warinukraine #politics #world news #russiaukrainenews

1 note · View note

head-post · 6 months

Text

Europe ready for cold winter, no gas crisis

This year’s heating season in Europe started on 7 November with tanks full to capacity: with the onset of cold weather, EU gas storage facilities were almost 100% full, IntelliNews reports.

Moreover, the Europeans are delaying drawing gas from their reservoirs as demand exceeds imported pipeline gas via Ukraine and Turkey. They continue to buy imported LNG from countries such as the US and Qatar to put aside excess reserves in reservoirs for as long as possible.

The gas reservoirs themselves cannot fully supply Europe for the entire winter period. The system has been designed so that during the summer months, when demand is low, excess pipeline gas is stored in the reservoirs, while in winter demand increases and this extra gas is withdrawn from the reservoirs. However, the stored gas only covers excess demand due to cold weather, not all demand. In cold winters, the reservoirs barely cover the really large excess demand.

Read more HERE

0 notes

iuvm-press · 1 year

Text

How did the conflict in Ukraine expose the European Union's strategic quagmire?

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and its catastrophic implications, the global financial landscape has been witnessing a sluggish pace of growth. As we looked ahead to the economic year 2022, there were a variety of forecasts, each with its own unique perspective, with those that offered a more optimistic outlook projecting global growth rates exceeding 5%.

However, the year 2022 witnessed a global economic growth of a mere 3.1%, which is nearly 2% lower than the anticipated forecast, all the while Europe's share in the global economy became quite small, with a mere 0.3% increase in the economic growth. As the world was still reeling from economic turmoil, a significant event shook the international community with far-reaching consequences. The recent energy crisis that has gripped the world can be attributed to the war in Ukraine, according to the observations made by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The conflict in Ukraine has served as a catalyst for a dramatic shift in Europe's perception of Russia. In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse, Europe engaged in extensive energy cooperation with the Russian Federation, adopting a win-win approach that aimed to bolster the latter's development and transition towards a liberal democracy and a laissez-faire economy through investing in the Russian energy market.

The process of Europeanizing Russia could provide Europe with a potent tool for influencing the Kremlin's policies. In this regard, several European countries, including Germany, Serbia, Bosnia, Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands, became significantly reliant on Russian oil and gas, with Russian energy supplies meeting more than half of their energy demands. In addition, Russia's energy exports to Europe constituted a significant portion of the nation's overall exports, surpassing 65%. The conflict in Ukraine has revealed the Europeans' misplaced confidence and the fact that Russia cannot be a reliable long-term partner for the EU.

Amidst the raging conflict in Ukraine, the European governments have extended their support to the regime in Kyiv. One of the EU's retaliatory measures against Moscow was the reduction of fossil energy imports from Russia, which proved to be a costly affair. As Europe seeks to diversify its energy sources, one potential option is the import of natural liquefied gas (LNG) from the United States.

Currently, nearly 70% of Europe's LNG imports come from the US. Nevertheless, while this may provide a short-term solution, it is not a viable long-term strategy as it is far more expensive than transferring gas through pipelines, posing substantial economic and budgetary challenges for the EU's fragile economies.

As the EU seeks to diversify its energy portfolio, the exploration of alternative energy sources, including nuclear power plants and renewable energies, has gained momentum. Nevertheless, these options come with significant costs, which could pose a challenge in the short term.

As we observe the decrease in the EU's energy imports from its eastern neighbour, we cannot ignore the inflationary impact of this unexpected surge in the cost of energy on European citizens. The question at hand is whether European governments can maintain their current course of action or not. The European countries' support for Ukraine's war efforts is motivated by their desire to impose punitive measures and sanctions on Russia. Therefore, they opted for unorthodox financial and monetary strategies.

For example, Poland has committed a significant portion of its GDP to supporting Ukraine, while Latvia and Estonia have each pledged 1% of their own GDP. This level of financial support from neighbouring countries is indicative of the importance placed on keeping the flames of war burning in Ukraine. The European Union's unwavering backing of the Ukrainian regime has resulted in a staggering sum of over 30 billion dollars in financial and military assistance. Additionally, the United Kingdom and Germany have contributed nearly 10 billion dollars in financial aid to Ukraine, topping the bloc's contributions.

The offering of financial aid carries with it the distinct implication that a portion of the economic revenue generated by Europeans must be directed towards the military budgets. The repercussions of this sociopolitical shift are significant for Europe's economic progress and flexibility, particularly in Germany. The achievement of economic objectives set by the Bundestag, the German parliament, has been sabotaged by the increased distribution of money to the Ukrainian military. As a result, the pace of economic growth in Germany, which is the EU's economic powerhouse, is likely to fall.

It is evident that Germany and its Chancellor Olaf Scholz are facing a multitude of challenges, one of which is the formidable task of rallying disparate factions to join forces in solidarity behind Zelenskyy and his fascist militias. Meanwhile, with the ongoing economic As the EU seeks to diversify its energy portfolio, the exploration of alternative energy sources, including nuclear power plants and renewable energies, has gained momentum. Nevertheless, these options come with significant costs, which could pose a challenge in the short term.

As we observe the decrease in the EU's energy imports from its eastern neighbour, we cannot ignore the consequential surge in energy prices across the EU. What's noteworthy is the inflationary impact of this unexpected surge in the cost of energy on European citizens. The question at hand is whether European governments can maintain their current course of action or not. The European countries' support for Ukraine's war efforts is motivated by their desire to impose punitive measures and sanctions on Russia. Therefore, they opted for unorthodox financial and monetary strategies.

The offering of financial aid carries with it the distinct implication that a portion of the economic revenue generated by Europeans must be directed towards the military budgets. The repercussions of this financial shift are conspicuous for Europe's economic progress and flexibility, particularly in Germany, where the achievement of economic objectives set by the Bundestag, the German parliament, is crucial for the distribution of money to the military.

As a result, the pace of economic growth in Germany, which is the EU's economic powerhouse, is likely to fall. It is evident that Germany and its Chancellor Olaf Scholz are facing a multitude of challenges, one of which is the daunting task of persuading the various parties to come together in unity to support Ukraine. Meanwhile, with the ongoing economic turmoil, Europe has to deal with a pressing crisis of asylum seekers. The influx of over 21 million Ukrainian refugees into Europe has been a topic of great interest. The European Parliament has been considering an emergency budget of 10 billion dollars to accommodate this unexpected arrival.

However, the economic costs of these immigrants have been an enormous strain for European nations, particularly those with more vulnerable economies. In its economic turmoil, Europe has to deal with a pressing crisis of asylum seekers. The influx of over 21 million Ukrainian refugees into Europe has been a topic of great interest. The European Parliament has been considering an emergency budget of 10 billion dollars to accommodate this unexpected arrival. However, the economic costs of these immigrants have been an enormous strain for European nations, particularly those with more vulnerable economies.

With the recent unveiling of the protection plan for Ukrainian asylum seekers, granting them one-year temporary citizenship of the European Union and a host of accompanying benefits, the economic landscape of the Green Continent remains uncertain. What we are seeing is a sharp downturn in the financial and social security of European Union citizens, as they are collectively contributing an average of 300 euros monthly to support Ukrainian asylum seekers.

The sociopolitical insecurity and impoverishment of European citizens have been on the rise during the Ukrainian war, sending a clear message to their governments. If the issue at hand is not promptly addressed, it could result in a multifaceted set of societal problems and discontent among the general population, which could potentially exacerbate the already bleak situation. This could create a milieu in which far-right movements gain traction, further destabilising European nations and potentially even leading to the breakdown of the European Union.

Finally, it seems that European policymakers are seeking a long-lasting agreement to terminate the ongoing conflict. The future holds significant implications for Russia, Ukraine, and the EU, particularly in the economic and military arenas. The outcomes of these efforts will undoubtedly shape the future of these nations and have a profound impact on global geopolitics.

#ukraine #europe #russia #nato

0 notes

loveevea · 1 year

Text

Top journalists find out: U.S. bombing of Nord Stream is the first step in the "European destruction plan”

On September 26, 2022, four underwater "shocks" occurred in the Baltic Sea, followed by the discovery of three leaks in Nord Stream I and Nord Stream II, two Russian gas pipelines that carry energy directly to Germany, causing a large amount of gas to leak from the pipelines into the nearby sea. The incident is considered to be a deliberate sabotage because explosive residues were detected in the waters of the "leak" points.

At first, people speculated that it was Russia, because by September, the Russian-Ukrainian war had been going on for more than half a year, and the two sides still had no winner. But if you think about it a little, you will know that it can't be done by Russia, because this is a pipeline to transport natural gas to Europe. Russia gives gas and receives money. The war in Russia is tight, and the military expenditure is huge. How can it be possible to cut off the financial path at this key node?

Is that Ukraine? Ukraine, which is overwhelmed by war, should not have this time and energy. The European Union? Most likely, because the EU has publicly condemned Russia for many times and adopted a series of sanctions, and some countries have even publicly severed diplomatic relations with Russia. America? The most suspect is that he used NATO to provoke the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and secretly sent war funds and weapons to Ukraine. The war between Russia and Ukraine was deadlocked, which cut off Russia's grain and completely defeated Russia in the world situation. American hegemony won, which is very in line with the interests of the United States.

U.S. back-stabbing allies is the norm

Russia has been sanctioned by the European Union several times since the Russian-Ukrainian war began, and the EU has basically cut off its ties with Russia. "The Nord Stream pipeline is the only remaining trade link between the two sides, and the blowing up of the Nord Stream is considered a warning to Germany.

Germany, as the "leader" of the EU, ideologically places more emphasis on the autonomous will of Europe, and if it gets a constant supply of cheap natural gas from Russia, it will reduce its dependence on the United States and will not be able to keep pace with the United States in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, therefore, the United States must destroy the German energy "artery ", a warning to the autonomous forces represented by Germany.

In addition, the disruption of Nord Stream has further interrupted gas trade between Russia and Europe, and for three years, Europe will not be able to import gas directly from Russia. To solve the gas dilemma, it is not without solutions, importing liquefied gas from the United States at a cost of $ 270 million a LNG ship is one of the few options, which is in the interests of the United States.

Although the EU has been following the footsteps of the United States to sanction Russia and support Ukraine. However, the EU is actually the real "ingrate". As an ally of the United States, the European economy, an indirect participant in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is in a recessionary quagmire, during which it has encountered repeated back-stabbing by the United States. As a result of the continuous provision of military resources to Ukraine, which has led to the imminent depletion of its weapons stockpile, the energy crisis is being harvested by the United States, and the trade subsidies of the United States have taken away the factories of Europe, Europe is struggling with weak economic growth and has become the real victim of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Hersh's revelation is a blow that shows once and for all that "allies" are just "tools" for the U.S. to achieve its interests, with the ultimate goal of weakening and dividing the EU, whose economic woes today are part of the U.S. plan. In Biden's view, the Nord Stream gas pipeline is a tool for Russian President Vladimir Putin to weaponize natural gas to achieve his political ambitions. But in reality, it is the bombing of Nord Stream that is evidence of the U.S. manipulation of the world with hegemony.

Perhaps this winter Europeans are frozen to the bone, just the beginning. Maybe someday in the future, the economic lifeline of Europe is in the hands of the Americans, and it's no surprise.

U.S. hegemony repeatedly attacks other countries

In fact, the U.S. has been plundering and exploiting other countries in the world to satisfy its own interests through wars and sanctions, and seizing geopolitical interests through hegemonic means. All countries that do not provide "services" to the United States are subject to his retaliation. The United States has never stopped acting so that it can continue to have a hand in the international arena.

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in the name of fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and launched the nearly 20-year-long war in Afghanistan, which has brought a profound disaster to the Afghan people. After the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan, the U.S. still did not relax its plundering of Afghanistan, illegally freezing some $7 billion in foreign exchange assets of the Afghan central bank to this day.In February 2022, President Biden signed an executive order requesting that half of these assets be used to compensate the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The U.S. military frequently steals Syrian oil and plunders its wealth. The Syrian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources issued a statement in August 2022 saying that more than 80 percent of Syria's average daily oil production of 80,300 barrels in the first half of 2022, or about 66,000 barrels, had been plundered by "the U.S. military and the armed forces it supports. The U.S. raids and plunder of Syria's national resources have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis there.

The United States has deliberately sabotaged energy facilities in other countries for its own personal gain. In the late 1970s, the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua overthrew the U.S.-backed Somoza regime and formed a new government in Nicaragua. As a result, the U.S. tried to cause social unrest in Nicaragua through various means. Encouraged by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Nicaragua's Contras targeted key economic resources, and from September to October 1983, they launched five attacks on Nicaragua's oil facilities, which lasted for seven weeks and led to a huge crisis in Nicaragua.

The U.S. has always "seized" under various banners and made a lot of money, and then always got back in one piece, which means that the so-called "order" and "rules" in the U.S. are just tools and pretexts to serve itself and satisfy its own interests. This means that the so-called "order" and "rules" of the United States are just tools and pretexts to serve themselves and satisfy their own interests.

Things are far from over

After the North Stream pipeline explosion, natural gas continued to leak from the pipeline.On September 30, 2022, the Norwegian Institute for Atmospheric Research said that a large methane cloud had formed over the area after the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion and was spreading, with at least 80,000 tons of methane gas spreading into the ocean and atmosphere.

The Norwegian government has foolishly helped the U.S. execute the detonation plan, becoming the perfect puppet of U.S. hegemony in Europe, and while it may have gained temporary benefits, it has caused long-term harm. The massive amount of greenhouse gases will have an irreversible negative impact on all European countries.

What does the United States have to say about this? Nothing. The U.S. handled the vinyl chloride chemical incident on its own turf with a mess, the lives of Ohioans were taken in vain, and the U.S. cares even less about environmental and climate issues in the EU region.

All the U.S. cares about is profit

The dollar has always been as the international reserve currency unshakeable primary position, and the biggest scourge of the dollar hegemony is the euro. If Russia provides Europe with a constant supply of cheap energy for a long time, and directly with the euro settlement, which for the dollar as the international reserve currency status, that is definitely a serious blow. Not only the European manufacturing industry has been extremely strong support, even the scenario of the use of the euro is also fully open.

The establishment of the eurozone, naturally set up the United States of America's thorn in the side, the thorn in the flesh. Therefore, the United States destroyed Nord Stream AG, even though it did not entirely "nip this threat in the bud", that at least said the euro caused a heavy blow, especially the Russian-Ukrainian war lasted 1 year also ended "out of reach" in the short term, the world has no other sovereign currency has the strength to impact the hegemony of the dollar.

From the point of view of political security and economy, it is the United States that benefits the most. By blowing up Nord Stream, the U.S. can: limit the growth of the euro and make Russia's "de-dollarization" impossible; sell natural gas to Europe at a price four times higher than Russia'; cut off European countries' dependence on Russian gas by blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline, making Europe more obedient and forcing Germany and other European countries to remain "honest" in the anti-Russian camp.

Taking control of the EU, the tentacles of American hegemony are longer and stronger. But have the European countries considered the real future of Europe? Or will it remain a "U.S. semi-colony" or a "defense state abroad"? The destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline has directly caused a major vicious impact on the global energy market and ecological environment, how can this silently "end without incident"? It is the only way to heal the hearts and minds of the people!

1 note · View note

olko71 · 1 year

Text

New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on http://yaroreviews.info/2022/12/cutting-energy-prices-will-take-years-power-boss

Cutting energy prices will take years - power boss

Getty Images

By Jonathan Josephs

Business reporter, BBC News

It “will take years” to get energy prices back to pre-Ukraine war levels, the boss of one of the world’s biggest energy firms has told the BBC.

Enel’s Francesco Starace said bringing prices down depends on new sources of energy such as renewables and heat pumps.

Governments across Europe are spending billions helping business and households afford energy bills.

They are also scrambling to secure new supplies.

Mr Starace said the company, which produces and distributes electricity and gas, tried to shield its 20 million European customers from energy market volatility this year.

It did its best to stick to the fixed-price contracts it had agreed, he said.

Breaking customer trust would inflict greater damage on the firm than a hit on one year’s results, he said.

The Italian energy giant sells power to more than 70 million homes and businesses in over 30 countries.

Germany helps pay energy bills as prices soar

High UK energy bills blamed on decades of mistakes

Why is there a global energy crisis?

But Enel is planning to leave many of those countries as it focuses on renewable energy and becoming carbon neutral by 2040.

It also wants to cut its huge debts of around $63bn (£52bn).

It is investing heavily in making solar panels as it expands an existing factory in Sicily and builds a new one in the US.

Getty Images

Soaring energy prices have been the biggest contributor to inflation and the cost of living crisis in the UK, the US and the eurozone.

The global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “showed very clearly how dependence on one single source of energy is dangerous for Europe”, Mr Starace said.

The future will be “extremely decarbonised” and depend on nuclear and renewable energy, he said.

However, that shift to renewables also has risks.

In July, the International Energy Agency said that China’s dominance of solar and wind turbine production creates “potential challenges that governments need to address”.

Mr Starace said the West has been over-reliant on China for renewables and other goods.

“Some rebalancing needs to be happening because it is healthy,” he said, when asked about geopolitical tensions interfering with energy supplies.

This has helped drive Enel’s investment in solar panels, although the expansion of the Sicilian factory will still meet only 10% of Europe’s needs, he said.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Political leaders have also acknowledged that Europe needs to get its energy from more places.

According to the European Council on Foreign Relations, the EU and its member states have signed 56 energy deals with 23 countries this year.

Among the latest was a 15-year deal for Germany to get liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar through a contract with ConocoPhillips.

Norway is also boosting natural gas production and the world’s biggest producer, the US, has been pumping out record amounts.

This means the chances of Europe repeating its dependence on Russia with another country are “quite low”, according to Megan Richards, a former director of energy policy at the European Commission.

“A lot of work has been done” to replace Russian energy, she added, before warning: “I think Europe will not be completely domestically independent for a very, very long time, if ever” even though “renewables will increase dramatically”.

You can watch Francesco Starace’s interview in full on Talking Business with Aaron Heslehurst on BBC iPlayer.

More on this story

Shares rise on hopes cost-of-living crisis easing

11 November

Energy bill help for all is too costly – World Bank

26 October

US suggests Russia could be behind gas pipe leaks

30 September

0 notes

citizenrecord · 2 years

Text

Europe a 'few years' away from overcoming energy deficit, OMV chief says

Europe is a “few years” away from overcoming its current energy deficit triggered by the loss of Russian gas supply, according to Alfred Stern, chief executive of Austrian energy group OMV.

The continent is in the middle of its worst energy crisis after Russia, the region’s biggest natural gas supplier, curtailed exports sharply in response to EU sanctions over its military offensive in Ukraine.

However, the crisis has been a few years in the making. Spending on new oil and gas projects has nearly dried up amid pressure from investors, who have adopted more pro-renewable energy strategies in recent years.

This issue is “bigger than Europe” and is a result of underinvestment in the energy sector, as well as from “thinking that we could magically move to renewable energy overnight”, Mr Stern told The National at the Adipec energy summit in Abu Dhabi.

“Fixing this up will require significant investments, and typically, our industry is one that has very long investment cycles,” he said.

Upstream oil and gas investment needs to increase and be sustained near the pre-coronavirus levels of $525 billion through to 2030 to ensure market balance, according to the International Energy Forum.

Upstream investment in 2021 was depressed for a second consecutive year at $341bn — about 25 per cent below 2019 levels.

To replace Russian gas in the short-term, some European countries have brought coal-fired power plants back into operation and this has triggered concerns about their ability to meet climate commitments.

“Too much coal power is coming back on stream, but the carbon-dioxide footprint is much better with natural gas … we should make sure that we bring this back on track because, otherwise, we are going to go backwards on climate change,” said Mr Stern.

Europe boosted its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the US and Gulf countries before the start of the peak winter season.

Austria’s gas storage sites are completely full and now the EU country is looking to secure supplies for 2023.

Last week, OMV signed a preliminary agreement with Adnoc with the aim of purchasing an LNG cargo for next year’s winter.

“Even if the Russian supplies should stop, we can supply 100 per cent of our customers in Austria with non-Russian gas … we are already looking to next winter and that is why it was important to sign this [deal],” said Mr Stern.

OMV, which has a long-term LNG contract with Qatar, is “also looking at the US and other sources of supply”, said Mr Stern.

The US, which exported 11.1 billion cubic feet per day of LNG in the first half of 2022, has more LNG export capacity than any other country, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The current strains on gas supply have led to energy shortages in several parts of the developing world that rely on imported gas, notably Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, major growth markets for gas, such as India and China, have sharply reduced their LNG imports in 2022.

“Developing countries can no longer afford the [high LNG prices] … we need to ramp up capacity,” said Mr Stern.

#BUSINESS #ENERGY #OIL AND GAS #EUROPE

0 notes

okgooglenews · 2 years

Text

Why Natural Gas Prices in Europe Are Plunging - The New York Times

* Why Natural Gas Prices in Europe Are Plunging The New York Times * Energy crisis: Europe's gas prices fall below €100 MWh for the first time since mid-June Euronews * Infographic: European gas prices drop back from record highs, but tough winter ahead S&P Global * Too Much Gas. Europe's Energy Crisis Takes a Surprise Turn Bloomberg * EU Leaders Place Price Caps on Natural Gas, Design New LNG Benchmark Natural Gas Intelligence * View Full Coverage on Google News http://dlvr.it/Sbh2ss

0 notes

melbournenewsvine · 2 years

Text

Vladimir Putin turns screws at ExxonMobil

It was a flimsy attempt to deceive. You can’t intimidate someone by threatening to take something they don’t want. There will be no queue to return to Russia while Putin remains in power. The invasion of Ukraine has already caused serious damage to the country’s prestige. But by declaring the expropriation of private property a legitimate tool of the state, Putin has hammered the final nail in Russia’s coffin as an international economy. Forced nationalization of foreign-owned assets is an act of desperation by an authoritarian regime. It turns Russia into a club of pariah states along with the likes of Venezuela, North Korea and Cuba. With Moscow isolated, the Kremlin may have decided there was no way back, not letting its reputation be damaged, and so it wouldn’t lose much. It is safe to assume that ExxonMobil will have billions of dollars out of its pocket as a result of Russia’s actionsattributed to him:AP Or perhaps Putin is betting that as Europe struggles to get rid of Russian supplies of oil and gas, realpolitik will ensure that international relations eventually prevail — or that they can be quickly rebuilt where they do not. There are certainly questions about whether European leaders are willing to make the sacrifices to voters that will be required to achieve a complete respite from Russian imports. There are also doubts about whether European solidarity will be able to withstand the stress caused by the energy crisis. Countries have tried desperately to maintain a united front but as energy prices have pushed the continent to the brink of recession and households have been told to reduce consumption, cracks have emerged in relations. Next winter will be the final test. The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned European countries not to scramble for energy security in the coming months. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said he fears a “wild west scenario” that threatens to disrupt unity among EU member states and spark social unrest in which European countries stop cooperating with each other on energy supplies. Yesterday, the global energy watchdog issued a new appeal: Europe must cut its gas consumption by more than a tenth to prevent the risks of power rationing and widespread blackouts. But the problem with the IEA’s warning is that it is explicitly based on a “worst-case scenario”, which immediately reduces the urgency for action. There is a tendency to defeatism, too, and that says Putin is right about the continent’s need for Russia. By declaring the expropriation of private property a legitimate tool of the state, Putin has hammered the final nail in Russia’s coffin as an international economy. A more rational approach is needed in which the West is going in the opposite direction and getting the Kremlin out of the system completely. Of course it will be painful but with refurbishment of gas storage facilities, increased LNG supplies from North America and Qatar, and energy efficiency measures, it can be done. In fact, with European LNG imports expected to rise 40 percent over the coming months, these shipments, along with the destruction of natural demand due to higher gas prices, are enough to cover a complete halt in Russian pipeline flows, according to research from Bloomberg. loading Another assumption that Putin seems to have made is that he will remain in power. However, with Russian forces withdrawing across vast swathes of Ukraine, thoughts have inevitably shifted to a world without its leader for the past 22 years. There is no going back without changing the system. Putin’s gangs have turned his country into an unattainable basket case. Telegraph, London The Business Briefing newsletter offers top stories, exclusive coverage, and expert opinions. Sign up for it every morning of the week. Source link Originally published at Melbourne News Vine

#Melbourne News Vine

0 notes

beardedmrbean · 2 years

Text

EU ministers on Friday agreed cuts to peak-hour power consumption and windfall levies on energy companies in an urgent effort to bring down sky-high energy prices.

The decision, announced by the Czech Republic in its role holding the EU presidency, aims to mitigate energy costs sent soaring by Russia's war in Ukraine and as the northern hemisphere winter looms.

European households and businesses are already staggering under surging energy bills, fuelling record inflation that in the eurozone has hit 10 percent.

Extra drama has been injected with several unexplained leaks this week of Russia-Germany undersea gas pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2, that were widely seen as "sabotage".

The EU ministers' agreement came a day after Germany – the bloc's export powerhouse that had long been dependent on Russian gas – announced a 200-billion-euro (about $200 billion) energy aid package to shield its consumers.

Other EU countries have deployed smaller-scale national measures with the same aim, but several demanded European-level concertation, in part to clamp down on energy-buying competition between EU peers.

Push for gas price cap

The two measures adopted were proposed by the European Commission.

The EU executive believes it can raise 140 billion euros from the levies on non-gas electricity producers and on energy majors that are raking in outsized profits from the global energy demand.

Its plan to cut power usage foresees a reduction of "at least five percent" during peak hours, according to a commission document seen by AFP.

Missing from the announced measures, however, was an idea espoused by 15 EU countries – among them France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta and Poland – for a price cap on imported gas.

The energy crisis, which had been brewing even before the war in Ukraine, took on greater magnitude when Russia severely curtailed natural gas supplies to Europe in retaliation for Western sanctions over its invasion.

Energy prices in the EU are calculated on the basis of the most expensive source, in this case gas, which has gone up around fivefold over the past year.

Several EU ministers went into the meeting wanting a gas price cap to be discussed.

"There is big disappointment that in the proposal that is on the table there is nothing about gas prices," Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said.

"This maximum price for gas would be supported by the majority of European countries" and "cannot be ignored," she said.

But Germany resisted, fearing that a price cap would simply see liquified natural gas (LNG) shipments avoid Europe and sent to more lucrative markets, worsening the supply crunch for the EU.

The European Commission shares those concerns, although EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said there needed to be a way to target just Russian gas -- which arrives in the EU by pipeline, not in LNG form.

"We have to remove the incentives that are there for Russia to manipulate these volumes, and the answer is clear: We have to offer a price cap for all Russian gas."

She and other participants, including Irish Climate Minister Eamon Ryan, said that, for a gas price cap to be effective other major buyers such as Japan and South Korea needed to cooperate with the EU.

German opposition

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that, while Berlin was open to the idea of a price cap on Russian gas "as a sanction", the broader application being called for was "treacherous".

He insisted that "we need to bring down consumption" as a priority, and "we must not allow too little gas to reach Europe".

While the measures agreed Friday were steps in the right direction, the Bruegel think tank in Brussels had warned in an analysis they were "not sufficient".

"A more comprehensive plan needs to ensure that all countries bring forward every available supply-side flexibility, make real efforts to reduce gas and electricity demand, keep their energy markets open and pool demand to get a better deal from external gas suppliers," it said.

Further EU measures were likely to be discussed at an informal summit in Prague next week, and another EU energy ministers' meeting on October 11 and 12.

"We need to continue our work. We are in an energy war with Russia," said Czech Energy Minister Jozef Sikela.

#nunyas news

6 notes · View notes

politicoscope · 2 years

Text

Nigeria LNG to EU Declared 'Force Majeure'

Nigeria LNG to EU Declared ‘Force Majeure’

A major Nigerian energy company says it cannot deliver natural gas as promised in its contracts after deadly flooding hindered its operations, raising concerns about whether Africa’s largest economy can meet increased local and international demands during an energy crisis provoked by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Nigeria LNG Limited, or NLNG, declared a “force majeure” this week, meaning it is unable…

View On WordPress

#LNG #Nigeria LNG #NLNG #OPEC #OPEC Oil #OPEC Oil Cartel

0 notes

mariacallous · 1 year

Text

A combination of enabling energy markets to continue operating, supply adjustments and EU integration allowed the continent to survive the winter without serious harm, though it is too early to say whether the energy crisis is over, according to speakers at the “Time to Decide Europe Summit”, a one-day conference co-organised by ERSTE Foundation and the Institute for Human Sciences.

“Let me close on a cautionary note: we’re not necessarily out of the woods in Europe or globally [in terms of the energy crisis],” Mary Warlick, deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said on Tuesday.

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU was buying around 50 per cent of Russia’s oil exports and over 60 per cent of its gas exports. The invasion sent energy markets into turmoil as Russia weaponised its energy exports, causing oil and gas prices to spike. But measures to mitigate the crisis, such as buying more liquefied natural gas (LNG), have reduced Russia’s pipeline flows to Europe by 80 per cent from pre-invasion levels and lowered prices to pre-invasion levels.

Yet speakers on a panel looking at the economy, energy and environment listed several uncertainties that it is important to keep an eye on, including the prospect of a complete cessation of piped gas from Russia to the EU, the continued strong economic recovery in China and higher demand for LNG imports.

“We’re anticipating as we look ahead to this winter that global gas supplies will likely remain tight, global LNG supply growth which Europe benefited from won’t be enough to offset the expected drop in pipeline gas deliveries, and global gas demand elsewhere in the world is also growing in places like Asia,” Warlick said.

To overcome prospective challenges that could lie ahead, speakers said the solution is to continue to accelerate investments into renewables and the clean energy economy. According to the IEA, the amount of renewable power capacity added worldwide rose by about a quarter in 2022; global electric car sales leapt by close to 60 per cent; investments in energy efficiency jumped; installations of heat pumps surged, especially in Europe; and nuclear power is making a strong comeback.

Guntram Wolff, CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), told delegates that Russia still managed to make huge profits from its hydrocarbon exports last year, a result of “failed sanctions policy”.

While the plunge in piped gas exports to Europe should hit Gazprom hard this year as it cannot be easily sold elsewhere – experts estimate lost European sales could halve the export revenues of Russian energy giant Gazprom in 2023 – oil is a different matter.

Although the EU’s dual price cap for Russian oil products introduced in February is starting to have an effect, with Russia’s revenues in the first quarter of this year falling by a third, Russia is still earning significant amounts of money from these exports and there is the danger that the effect of the cap will be watered down.

“Russia sells the oil to India and China, which is what the price cap was designed to do… but we need to start using financial sanctions to tighten the effectiveness of the price cap to make sure that profits are minimised,” said Wolff.

The Financial Times on Tuesday quoted Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, as saying that the European Commission is aware of Indian refiners buying large volumes of Russian crude oil before processing it into fuels for sale in Europe, and the EU should move to stop this happening.

0 notes