The bloc\u2019c energy chief sounded the alarm as European gas prices nearly tripled from this year\u2019s lows<\/p>\n
The EU could face its worst winter since the 2022 energy crisis, Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen has warned, as the bloc grapples with soaring prices and uncertainty over fuel supplies.
\nEuropean natural gas prices have nearly tripled this year, surging from around \u20ac27 ($31) in January to more than \u20ac80 per megawatt-hour in September \u2013 their highest level in nearly four years.
\n\u201cThis winter might be very, very bad [for the EU] and it might be the worst one we\u2019ve had since 2022,\u201d the Financial Times quoted Jorgensen as saying on Friday. The most likely scenario is \u201cvery, very high prices,\u201d he added.
\nRussian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev blamed Brussels\u2019 energy policies for the looming difficulties.
\n\u201cThe \u2018worst winter since 2022\u2019\u2026 will once again expose EU bureaucrats\u2019 energy suicide of decoupling from Russian energy,\u201d he wrote on X on Friday.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Germany pledges to phase out fossil fuels<\/p>\n
Since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, Russia\u2019s share of EU gas imports has fallen from around 45% to 12%, while its share of oil imports has dropped from 27% to about 2%.
\nThe 2022 energy crisis sent household bills across the EU to record highs. In the second half of that year, average household gas prices were about 46% higher year-on-year, while electricity prices rose roughly 21%, according to Eurostat. Governments responded with subsidies, price caps, and tax cuts.
\nThe bloc now faces additional pressure in the diesel market. US President Donald Trump this week backed restricting diesel exports as domestic prices hit record highs. The US has supplied about a third of Europe\u2019s diesel imports this year, with the share rising to around half in August.
\nJorgensen urged Washington to maintain \u201cas free a flow of energy between our countries as possible,\u201d while arguing that the EU must ultimately reduce its reliance on oil and gas.
\n\u201cIf we do not move away from this dependency on fossil fuels, then I can promise everybody it will be a permanent crisis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: The EU wanted a green revolution. It may get a rust belt instead<\/p>\n
That transition, however, remains a long-term challenge. Almost 70% of energy used for heating and cooling in the EU still comes from oil and gas. The European Commission plans to expand electrification, power grids, and storage, but even by 2040 aims to electrify only 46% of final energy consumption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The bloc\u2019c energy chief sounded the alarm as European gas prices nearly tripled from this year\u2019s lows The EU could face its worst winter since the 2022 energy crisis, Energy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t