5 things you should know about Europe’s energy crisis

The document outlines five key drivers of Europe's energy crisis: recovering global gas demand, a reliance on imports from Russia and Norway as domestic production declines, surging wholesale prices, the risk of extreme winter weather, and the tension between using gas for decarbonization and its role as a source of greenhouse gas emissions.

• Global natural gas demand is rebounding following a 1.9% drop in 2020, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) projecting a 3.6% increase across 2021 and a potential 7% increase above pre-pandemic levels by 2024 if left unchecked.
• Europe's dependence on gas imports, primarily from Norway and Russia, is increasing as domestic production falls and fields like Groningen in the Netherlands are scheduled to close by mid-2022.
• European gas prices rose by 600% in 2021, leading to the collapse of several small energy providers in the UK and a 37% spike in UK wholesale gas prices within 24 hours in early October.
• Logistical constraints in the LNG shipping market exacerbate supply issues during cold weather; spot charter rates for LNG vessels have exceeded $100,000 in the last three northern hemisphere winters and peaked above $200,000 in January 2021.
• While gas is used to decarbonize electricity by replacing coal and oil, it remains a major source of methane and greenhouse gas emissions; the IEA forecasts a 9% increase in annual gas demand between 2020 and 2024, which exceeds the levels required for net-zero emissions targets.

APA

Fleming, S. (2021). 5 things you should know about Europe’s energy crisis. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/5-facts-europe-energy-crisis/

Chicago

Fleming, Sean. 5 things you should know about Europe’s energy crisis. World Economic Forum, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/5-facts-europe-energy-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fleming |first1=Sean |title=5 things you should know about Europe’s energy crisis |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=13 October 2021 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/5-facts-europe-energy-crisis/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fleming2021things, author = {Fleming, Sean}, title = {{5 things you should know about Europe’s energy crisis}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/5-facts-europe-energy-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }