IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i16p5957-d1216028.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy Crisis in Europe: The European Union’s Objectives and Countries’ Policy Trends—New Transition Paths?

Author

Listed:
  • Eva M. Urbano

    (MCIA Research Center, Department of Electronic Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08222 Terrassa, Spain)

  • Konstantinos Kampouropoulos

    (MCIA Research Center, Department of Electronic Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08222 Terrassa, Spain)

  • Luis Romeral

    (MCIA Research Center, Department of Electronic Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 08222 Terrassa, Spain)

Abstract

Amidst the ongoing European energy crisis, the EU has proposed a legislative package to enhance gas independence from Russia, diversify energy supplies, and increase renewable energy targets. However, the urgency for energy security has led some countries to prioritise gas independence over decarbonisation, potentially sacrificing or delaying EU targets. Considering this framework, this article contributes to the body of knowledge by examining the electricity mix of the six most significant EU countries in terms of generation capacity, considers their alignment with 2025 energy transition goals, and analyses the latest legislative trends to evaluate their compatibility with EU objectives. The findings from these analyses indicate that EU members are currently prioritising gas independence, which has led to re-starting or extending the lifespan of coal-fired power plants and an increasing interest in nuclear energy as a low-carbon alternative. These findings have significant implications as they reveal how countries are being steered away from their pre-crisis energy transition paths, resulting in the formation of new perspectives for both the short and long term.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva M. Urbano & Konstantinos Kampouropoulos & Luis Romeral, 2023. "Energy Crisis in Europe: The European Union’s Objectives and Countries’ Policy Trends—New Transition Paths?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-23, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:16:p:5957-:d:1216028
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/5957/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/5957/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hubert Kryszk & Krystyna Kurowska & Renata Marks-Bielska & Stanisław Bielski & Bartłomiej Eźlakowski, 2023. "Barriers and Prospects for the Development of Renewable Energy Sources in Poland during the Energy Crisis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Gürtler, Konrad & Postpischil, Rafael & Quitzow, Rainer, 2019. "The dismantling of renewable energy policies: The cases of Spain and the Czech Republic," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    3. Hirth, Lion & Mühlenpfordt, Jonathan & Bulkeley, Marisa, 2018. "The ENTSO-E Transparency Platform – A review of Europe’s most ambitious electricity data platform," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 1054-1067.
    4. Mr. Anil Ari & Mr. Nicolas Arregui & Mr. Simon Black & Oya Celasun & Ms. Dora M Iakova & Ms. Aiko Mineshima & Mr. Victor Mylonas & Ian W.H. Parry & Iulia Teodoru & Karlygash Zhunussova, 2022. "Surging Energy Prices in Europe in the Aftermath of the War: How to Support the Vulnerable and Speed up the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels," IMF Working Papers 2022/152, International Monetary Fund.
    5. Flouri, Maria & Karakosta, Charikleia & Kladouchou, Charikleia & Psarras, John, 2015. "How does a natural gas supply interruption affect the EU gas security? A Monte Carlo simulation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 785-796.
    6. Iwona Zdonek & Stanisław Tokarski & Anna Mularczyk & Marian Turek, 2022. "Evaluation of the Program Subsidizing Prosumer Photovoltaic Sources in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Christoph Halser & Florentina Paraschiv, 2022. "Pathways to Overcoming Natural Gas Dependency on Russia—The German Case," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-24, July.
    8. Grzegorz Zych & Jakub Bronicki & Marzena Czarnecka & Grzegorz Kinelski & Jacek Kamiński, 2023. "The Cost of Using Gas as a Transition Fuel in the Transition to Low-Carbon Energy: The Case Study of Poland and Selected European Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-13, January.
    9. Abbass, Kashif & Sharif, Arshian & Song, Huaming & Ali, Malik Tayyab & Khan, Farina & Amin, Nabila, 2022. "Do geopolitical oil price risk, global macroeconomic fundamentals relate Islamic and conventional stock market? Empirical evidence from QARDL approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Adriana Veronica Litră & Eliza Nichifor & Ioana Bianca Chiţu & Alexandra Zamfirache & Gabriel Brătucu, 2023. "The Dilemma of the European Integration Principle—Ensuring Energy Independence of the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Janis Kramens & Oskars Svedovs & Amanda Sturmane & Edgars Vigants & Vladimirs Kirsanovs & Dagnija Blumberga, 2024. "Exploring Energy Security and Independence for Small Energy Users: A Latvian Case Study on Unleashing Stirling Engine Potential," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-27, January.
    3. Cardinale, Roberto & Cardinale, Ivano & Zupic, Ivan, 2024. "The EU's vulnerability to gas price and supply shocks: The role of mismatches between policy beliefs and changing international gas markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mirosława Szewczyk & Anna Szeliga-Duchnowska, 2022. "Make Hay While the Sun Shines: Beneficiaries of Renewable Energy Promotion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Omoyele, Olalekan & Hoffmann, Maximilian & Koivisto, Matti & Larrañeta, Miguel & Weinand, Jann Michael & Linßen, Jochen & Stolten, Detlef, 2024. "Increasing the resolution of solar and wind time series for energy system modeling: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    3. Yuru Guan & Jin Yan & Yuli Shan & Yannan Zhou & Ye Hang & Ruoqi Li & Yu Liu & Binyuan Liu & Qingyun Nie & Benedikt Bruckner & Kuishuang Feng & Klaus Hubacek, 2023. "Burden of the global energy price crisis on households," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 8(3), pages 304-316, March.
    4. Bessi, Alessandro & Guidolin, Mariangela & Manfredi, Piero, 2021. "The role of gas on future perspectives of renewable energy diffusion: Bridging technology or lock-in?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Kayani, Umar Nawaz & Hassan, M. Kabir & Moussa, Faten & Hossain, Gazi Farid, 2023. "Oil in crisis: What can we learn," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    6. Vassilis M. Charitopoulos & Mathilde Fajardy & Chi Kong Chyong & David M. Reiner, 2022. "The case of 100% electrification of domestic heat in Great Britain," Working Papers EPRG2206, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    7. Lu, Xinjie & Zeng, Qing & Zhong, Juandan & Zhu, Bo, 2024. "International stock market volatility: A global tail risk sight," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    8. Piotr Adamczyk, 2022. "Does the Volatility of Oil Price Affect the Structure of Employment? The Role of Exchange Rate Regime and Energy Import Dependency," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-10, September.
    9. Filip Božić & Daria Karasalihović Sedlar & Ivan Smajla & Ivana Ivančić, 2021. "Analysis of Changes in Natural Gas Physical Flows for Europe via Ukraine in 2020," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    10. Hinterlang, Natascha & Jäger, Marius & Stähler, Nikolai & Strobel, Johannes, 2024. "On curbing the rise in energy prices: An examination of different mitigation approaches," Discussion Papers 09/2024, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    11. Zhaoming Yang & Qi Xiang & Yuxuan He & Shiliang Peng & Michael Havbro Faber & Enrico Zio & Lili Zuo & Huai Su & Jinjun Zhang, 2023. "Resilience of Natural Gas Pipeline System: A Review and Outlook," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-19, August.
    12. Zeeshan Anjum Memon & Dalila Mat Said & Mohammad Yusri Hassan & Hafiz Mudassir Munir & Faisal Alsaif & Sager Alsulamy, 2023. "Effective Deterministic Methodology for Enhanced Distribution Network Performance and Plug-in Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-37, April.
    13. Xuejie Li & Yuan Xue & Yuxing Li & Qingshan Feng, 2022. "An Optimization Method for a Compressor Standby Scheme Based on Reliability Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-16, November.
    14. Henryk Łukowicz & Łukasz Bartela & Paweł Gładysz & Staffan Qvist, 2023. "Repowering a Coal Power Plant Steam Cycle Using Modular Light-Water Reactor Technology," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-25, March.
    15. Sergio Coronas & Jordi de la Hoz & Àlex Alonso & Helena Martín, 2022. "23 Years of Development of the Solar Power Generation Sector in Spain: A Comprehensive Review of the Period 1998–2020 from a Regulatory Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-53, February.
    16. Sergey Zhironkin & Fares Abu-Abed & Elena Dotsenko, 2023. "The Development of Renewable Energy in Mineral Resource Clusters—The Case of the Siberian Federal District," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-28, April.
    17. Iwona Zdonek & Anna Mularczyk & Marian Turek & Stanisław Tokarski, 2023. "Perception of Prosumer Photovoltaic Technology in Poland: Usability, Ease of Use, Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-18, June.
    18. Qinghe Zhao & Xinyi Liu & Junlong Fang, 2023. "Extreme Gradient Boosting Model for Day-Ahead STLF in National Level Power System: Estonia Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-29, December.
    19. Szabolcs Nagy & Laszlo Molnar & Noemi Hajdu, 2023. "Understanding the Human Dimensions of the Intention to Use Renewable Energy in Hungary Applying an Extended Model of Theory of Planned Behaviour," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 25(64), pages 830-830, August.
    20. Kazmi, Hussain & Munné-Collado, Íngrid & Mehmood, Fahad & Syed, Tahir Abbas & Driesen, Johan, 2021. "Towards data-driven energy communities: A review of open-source datasets, models and tools," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:16:p:5957-:d:1216028. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.