Europe’s Energy Crisis Requires Innovative Solutions

Mehmet Katmer | 20th November 2022 | Brussels, Comment
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Policymakers must ensure that Europe's demand needs are met in an affordable way while at the same time supporting the transition to low-carbon fuels.

The recent unusually warm weather across Europe has helped ease pressure on the continent’s energy crisis, with fears of rolling blackouts and further strain on household bills, at least for now, not coming to fruition. Nevertheless, extremely important debates continue over how Europe can ensure it gets the energy it needs in the immediate term following the supply shock caused by the war in Ukraine. One idea is universally agreed upon: more creative and flexible solutions are needed. This is also relevant for the longer term for Europe if it is to fully adjust to the loss of Russian energy supplies and to enable its carbon-reduction goals. Europe’s energy policymakers have an unenviable task. They must ensure that the region’s demand needs are met in an affordable way while at the same time supporting the transition to low-carbon fuels. European leaders are generally taking a pragmatic approach to the crisis, making the distinction between how to immediately plug the unexpected deman...

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