Å benytte seg av andres ikke-fornybare ressurser fremfor å tømme de siste restene av sine egne kan i utgangspunktet være klokt nok. Og om man i det hele tatt tar forholdet mellom utslipp av CO2 og klimaendringer alvorlig så er det høyst forståelig at EU og spesielt Tyskland har lagt opp til bruk av en høy andel gass i en overgangsperiode. Så kan man alltids diskutere hvor klokt dette var når rammene for “europeisk”, og spesielt “tysk” utenriks- og forsvarspolitikk i realiteten legges av politikere i Washington -
som langt mer åpenbart ikke tar klimaendringene alvorlig, men tvert imot til enhver tid har en stadig mer urealistisk vrangforestilling om sitt globale hegemoni som prioritet nr.1.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic and its related restrictions, in beginning of 2020, there was a drop in demand for natural gas and energy in general. As a result the TTF natural gas prices experienced record-low prices going as low as a little over 3.5 €/MWh in May 2020. Yet the era of low natural gas prices seems now part of history. Indeed the recovery of economic activities was translated into increased energy demand, and natural gas prices regained their pre-pandemic levels by Q3/Q4 2020. The upward trend continued in 2021, and European gas prices hit all-time highs of 116 €/MWh in October 2021: unthinkable two years ago. Following this, there was a small decrease in the prices by the end of October/beginning of November for natural gas before continuing their upward trend in the second half of November 2021, amid concerns regarding forecasts for a cold winter. On December 14th 2021, the Dutch TTF prices broke October’s all-time high record price to reach 118.36 €/MWh. Some reflections on current gas market price trends. Florence School of Regulation, European University Institute, 9 December 2021