Europe Likely To Turn Back to Coal Amid Energy Crisis

This article is for paid subscribers only.

In a scramble to find alternative fuel sources due to reduced gas flows from Russia, Europe’s market turns to coal in hopes of thwarting an energy crisis.

Why coal? The gas supply in Europe is running low, and coal-fired energy plants are the last resort. Over the past decade, many European countries moved away from nuclear energy and increased reliance on gas—which meant more dependence on Russia—the largest exporter in the region.

This was avoidable, but Germany ditched nuclear energy. After the Fukushima disaster in Japan, Germany started to shutter their nuclear reactors, forcing them to rely on Russia for oil. Spain, Italy, Austria, and the United States are all making the same mistake.

France, China, Great Britain, Hungary, and even Russia are building nuclear plants rather than shutting them down. Their strategic hindsight puts them in a position to weather the storm as the global gas market faces issues.