On September 29th, the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are holding a high-level conference on.
On September 29th, the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are holding a high-level conference on ensuring an orderly energy transition in Paris. The event comes at a time when Europe is facing energy price shocks and attempting a transition to renewables, without a coherent and cohesive strategy.
The price shocks resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions evidenced that Europe was ill-prepared. After the an initial, painful blow with costly oil and gas, energy prices are once more on the rise. WTI and Brent crude benchmarks are hovering around $90 a barrel, while many analysts forecast $100 or more. Diesel in the US has gone above $140 and in Europe it is up 60% since summer.
Higher energy prices could be making European industry uncompetitive. Across the region, including the EU and the UK, input costs have increased well above other advanced economies, such as Japan, the US and Canada.
