EU green strategy or need to overcome the energy crisis? 

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12, will be attended by government officials and experts.

Report informs that the event will discuss new commitments to reduce carbon emissions in order to keep the increase of the average temperature at 1.5 times compared to the pre-industrial period.

The event coincides with the energy crisis caused by fourfold and twofold growths in gas prices in Europe and the United States, respectively, as well as coal shortages.

The crisis in the European gas market is mainly due to the decline in production because of the slowdown in business in 2020 stemmed from the coronavirus pandemic, the lack of investment, and the insufficiency of underground gas storage facilities. Thus, the capacity of gas storage facilities in the UK meets only 6% of annual demand, and in Germany, France, and Italy – only 20%.

As stagnant weather prevailed in the summer of this year, the operation of wind powers in many countries was below average. At the same time, a significant reduction in coal production to reduce carbon emissions has exacerbated energy shortages, indicating that it is too early to abandon underground sources in Europe.

Russia, the region's leading gas supplier, minimized gas supplies between August and September when the European Union (EU) countries completed gas supplies to underground storage facilities and signed futures agreements on gas imports. The step is seen as a means of pressure to get consent for the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project, which will connect the country with Germany under the Baltic Sea.

According to Bloomberg experts, the repair work in the North Sea gas fields after the pandemic outage, and the fact that LNG resources are transported by Asian countries, raise the question of whether European countries can find an alternative to Russian gas. Therefore, the region may face a serious energy crisis in the coming winter.

Speaking to Report, an expert of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) on the European energy crisis said: "I can list dozens of reasons for the current difficulties in the eurozone. These are the factors ranging from unreasonable planning of demand to legal constraints in the EU. I think COP26 will talk about all this. The current crisis also proves that both the work on non-renewable energy sources and green initiatives need to be reconsidered due to possible risks.

There is no doubt that business activity, which began to recover after the pandemic, will be hampered by the fuel crisis in the EU and Asia, especially China.

Experts do not rule out rising inflation or even food shortages in the EU (natural gas is an important raw material for fertilizer production). In an interview with the Financial Times, Ting Lu, a Chinese expert of Nomura Financial Group, said: "China's fuel shortages and difficulties in electricity generation are a global problem. World markets will face shortages ranging from textiles and toys to machine parts and strategic products."

At a time when the world's largest gas producers are earning much money, EU countries are forced to provide state aid to energy companies and households: "Concerns about the rapid rise in figures in the gas bill on cold winter days could be more of a fear for most people than the overwhelming figures and estimates in climate change measures," said the Washington Post.

Brenda Schaffer, a professor at the University of Haifa in Israel and an energy expert, wrote in Foreign Policy: "The European Commission does not pay enough attention to issues such as safe supply and ease of use of energy, making energy policy an ordinary part of climate policy."

Ease of energy use is important in EU green initiatives, as the production of "green" and "blue" hydrogenium is expensive. However, research shows that methane pollutes the air more than carbon. This could lead to additional restrictions on industrial waste, which would place an extra burden on the economies of many countries.

Frans Timmermans, the European Commission's executive vice president for the European Green Agreement, said this week that the best way to respond to the fuel crisis is not to slow down the use of renewable energy but to find ways to boost it.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also said that the world is currently using various renewable energy sources and abandoning underground sources.

According to Russian expert Tamara Safronova, Europe does not fully implement such programs to reduce carbon emissions and switch from coal to gas.

In December this year, the EU is expected to make crucial decisions on the future use of hydrocarbons. Meanwhile, EU countries trying to resolve the current energy crisis are increasing gas and coal imports. Consequently, December gas futures exceeded $ 1,900 per 1,000 cubic meters.