Economic Alternatives For The Transport And Energy Sector In The Crisis With Energy Supplies

Abstract

Russia is a major energy and commodity producer. The current conflict in Ukraine escalates inflation to extreme levels causes a disruption and provokes high risks to global growth. Brent oil and natural gas prices spiked early in March before falling back, with Brent oil ending the month at $103 per barrel and European gas prices at €121 per megawatt hour, up 33% and 55% respectively since the start of the year. The European Commission announced ambitious plans to reduce imports of gas from Russia by two-thirds before the end of the year via more diversification, energy efficiency and by accelerating investments in wind and solar power plants. Despite this ambition, the March EU summit in Versailles highlighted that there are few near-term alternatives to Russian gas and that reducing European dependency on Russian gas requires a long-term strategy.