Qatar, the world's largest seller of liquefied natural gas (LNG), told consumers yesterday that it is powerless to calm energy prices, while British steel producers said they could be forced to halt production due to rising costs.
The recovery of economic activity after the easing of restrictive measures caused by the coronavirus pandemic pointed to a lack of natural gas and other fuel supplies, causing energy collapses in some countries.
To keep factories open and homes warm, energy industry executives and governments must pay exorbitant energy prices and turn to coal and oil, the fossil fuels that are the biggest polluters.
As some power plants switched to burning oil, crude oil futures hit a multi-year high yesterday, and analysts predict prices will remain high.
Prices of liquefied natural gas, which have fallen to record lows during the pandemic and quarantine, have surged in recent months, but Qatar says it does not have enough supplies to calm the market.
"We have run out of supplies because we have given all our consumers the quantities that follow them," said the Qatari Minister of Energy and director of Qatar Petroleum. Saad al-Kabi. "I am dissatisfied with such high gas prices," he said.
Due to the high prices of energy sources around the world, governments and industry are under pressure, which warns of the risk of job losses, and the costs will ultimately be borne by clients and consumers.
Analysts warn that the jump in energy prices will fuel inflationary pressure and influence central banks to tighten monetary policy, which could threaten economic growth.
"High energy prices and shortages will inevitably affect the global value chain in the form of rising prices and possible shortages of industrial and consumer products," the analyst told Reuters. Jeffrey Haley.
"As a result of all this, the constant story of central bankers around the world that inflation is temporary is increasingly becoming empty," he said.
Steelmakers in Britain have said they may have to shut down production and face severe consequences if the government does not come to their aid.
Spokesman for the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the government is considering whether additional action is needed.
In Spain, the steel producer "Sidenor" announced that it has already suspended production at a factory near Bilbao in the north of the country after the increase in energy prices caused production costs to increase by 25 percent.
In China, the world's second-largest economy and leading exporter, the government has tried to boost coal supplies, but the largest provincial economy in China's northeastern belt said yesterday it was struggling to deal with power shortages.
Due to the shortage, Chinese energy and petrochemical futures reached a record high yesterday.
Demand for data processing contributed to the crisis.
The Dutch Data Center Association is asking political leaders to limit electricity prices, provide corporate tax breaks or introduce subsidies to support business investments in cleaner energy.
They claim that nuclear energy is a solution to dependence on Russia and a tool in the climate fight
France, Finland, the Czech Republic and other Central and Eastern European countries are calling for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the upcoming classification of EU sustainable finance.
The European Commission is expected to make a decision in the coming months on whether the climate classification will characterize nuclear energy and natural gas as green investments.
In mid-December last year, a unique classification system was agreed at the EU level to encourage private investment in sustainable growth and contribution to a climate-neutral economy.
The regulation, the first of its kind, aims to take private capital out of polluting economic activities and into those the EU deems environmentally friendly. Energy and economy ministers from ten EU member states stated in a joint article published in several European newspapers that nuclear energy is an "affordable, stable and independent energy resource". They pointed out that it protects European consumers from price volatility and contributes to national energy insecurity.
"In order to win the climate battle, we need nuclear energy," states the statement, which was also signed by representatives of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia.
These countries have long advocated for nuclear energy to be included as a means of achieving the bloc's climate goals, but only the recent rise in energy prices has highlighted the importance of the debate within a region that is largely dependent on imports from Russia. The countries, led by France, pointed out that the rise in energy prices indicates the importance of reducing dependence on third countries as quickly as possible.
"All the scientific assessments requested by the EC on the impact of nuclear energy on the environment came to the same conclusion: there is no scientifically supported evidence that nuclear energy is less environmentally friendly than any other energy source already included in the taxonomy," the statement said. .
EU countries are divided over nuclear energy, which provides about a quarter of the EU's electricity from the 14 countries that use it. Supporters point to low CO2 emissions in nuclear power plants, while opponents, led by Germany, point to the dangers of nuclear waste. France gets about 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power plants, while in the Czech Republic that percentage was 2020 percent in 37.
"Nuclear energy is safe and innovative," said representatives of ten countries in a joint statement. "For more than 60 years, the European nuclear industry has proven to be reliable and safe. It is one of the best regulated sectors in the world, with 126 reactors in operation in 14 European countries. Constant exchange between agencies gives this industry the ability to guarantee the highest safety standards in the world. This is especially true for waste disposal," the announcement states.
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