Against the background of the European energy crisis of 2022 and the sharp rise in gas prices, the countries of the European Union are returning to using oil and coal. It is reported by Daily Shincho.

Gas prices in Europe are rising again. This happened because hot weather and low river levels led to a decrease in electricity generation at those power plants that were not powered by gas. All this has forced European countries to increase demand for oil and coal, the publication noted.

Europe’s energy crisis to worsen this winter. According to the publication, before the start of special operations of Russia in Ukraine, gas was cheaper than oil. This is because liquid oil can be easily transported by large tankers, while gas requires large capacities for laying pipelines and conversion into LNG. 

At the same time, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that demand for gas in the world will fall by 0.5% by the end of the year and will not grow for three years. Moreover, record-high gas prices prevent Europe from abandoning using oil and coal, and even more so, it is these resources that are being turned around.

The IEA predicted that by the end of 2022 world consumption of coal will grow the most and probably this indicator will be even higher next year. In this case, European Union countries, which have previously called for reducing the consumption of coal, now actively use it and only increase consumption.

August 25, Reuters, citing a document from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection of Germany, reported that the German government is concerned about possible difficulties with the supply of coal for power plants and oil in the northeastern parts of the country.

Earlier we reported that Toyota would raise steel prices for its suppliers by a record 20-30%.