Eu energy crisis may worsen next year

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned the European Union on Thursday that despite a temporary reprieve, the bloc's energy crisis could worsen next year, when it faces a shortfall of about 30 billion cubic meters of gas.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) held the offline launch of its report "How the EU can Avoid gas shortages by 2023" in Brussels on the same day. Iea Executive Director Fatih Birol said at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that while the EU has taken steps to temporarily ease gas shortages, its energy woes are not yet over and the EU is likely to continue to face an energy crisis next year, even worse than this year.

Mr. Birol noted that the combination of unseasonably mild early winter weather in Europe that was not certain to last, the possibility of a further drop in Russian gas supplies and an expected tightening of global liquefied natural gas supplies could create problems for the European Union. The EU could face a shortfall of about 27 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, or about 6.8 percent of the bloc's benchmark total gas demand.

According to the report, the IEA proposes a series of practical short-term measures to improve energy efficiency, such as building renovations and the use of LED lights in   street lamps.

Birol said energy security issues have overtaken ecological issues as the main driver of renewable energy deployment in the European Union. The EU needs to speed up the entry of renewable energy into the market and take other measures to avoid gas shortages next year in the heating, power and industrial sectors, among others.

In response to the above remarks, von der Leyen said that in 2023, the EU will step up efforts to buy liquefied natural gas, implement a joint procurement mechanism and expand and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy to deal with energy shortages.

Ms von der Leyen also said the EU would consider adjusting its budget and launching a new sovereign fund for energy investment. However, she did not say whether the fund would require a further increase in the EU's common debt, saying only that existing EU funds would need to be expanded through other means.

As the energy crisis continues to bite, households across Europe are paying significantly more for electricity, gas and food, severely undermining their spending power and thus the outlook for European consumption. Due to the soaring price of natural gas   and electricity, many energy-intensive enterprises in European countries have cut production or even suspended production, and the European industry is in a dilemma   of enterprise relocation and industrial transfer.

The consensus is that Europe will continue to suffer from severe energy shortages for years to come. European countries will find it harder to buy gas in the coming years as Russian supplies to Europe shrink sharply and the global scramble for liquefied natural gas intensifies.