The energy crisis with which the countries of the world collided in 2021 is largely due to inept policies and mistakes of the authorities, writes Foreign Policy. The current situation, according to the publication, would have dropped the world in the 1970s.
As a result, the problem arose in the West, which was in the path of the liberalization of the energy market, and in China. Thus, Europe faced a record increase in energy prices, the Great Britain was lowered by gas station, gasoline rose sharply in the US, and China had to go to turn off the electricity. Beijing five years urged the world in the fact that seriously approaches the “green” energy transition, but I found all the advantages of cheap coal immediately as I encountered it with a shortage. Energy supply interruptions caused chaos at factories not only in China, but also around the world, which additionally aggravated the problems in supply chains in a pandemic. Some enterprises had to limit or stop the work.
In general, the emergence of the crisis contributed to a number of events. Thus, the restoration of the economy after a pandemic turned out to be unexpectedly sharp, which led to a serious imbalance of supply and demand – with a predictable result. Weather contributed: Low temperatures made the gas consumption, the calm did not allow to work out enough energy at wind stations, and the floods were prevented by coal mining.
In Europe, gas prices reached the historical record in December, exceeding a mark of $ 2150 per thousand cubic meters. The price later went to the decline and by December 31 sank to about 800 dollars. China faced energy deficit against the background of coal shortage, partly associated with Beijing plans on the decarbonization of the economy.