According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), gas demand in Europe has fallen by 20 percent in the two years since the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Europe’s gas consumption last year fell to its lowest level in 10 years as countries turned to efficiency measures and increased use of renewable energy sources. The decline in natural gas demand was mainly driven by Germany, Italy and the UK.
Stating that countries continue to build new liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure, the statement said, “8 import terminals have been operational since February 2022 and 13 more projects are expected to be operational by 2030. This means that the total capacity of Europe’s LNG terminals could be 3 times the expected LNG demand by the end of the decade.”
The statement pointed out that Europe’s success in reducing piped gas imports from Russia contrasts with the increasing LNG shipments from this country, “In 2021-2023, Russian LNG shipments to Europe increased by 11 percent. Shipments to Spain doubled and to Belgium more than tripled. Turkey and Greece started importing Russian LNG in 2022. Spain, France and Belgium accounted for 80 percent of Europe’s Russian LNG imports last year.” information was shared.
“Two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Europe’s energy system is more diversified and resilient. The crisis has been contained to some extent, efficiency measures have been stepped up, renewables and heat pump installations have accelerated. This has enabled the continent to continue reducing its gas demand.”
“Europe should learn from its past mistakes and avoid being overly dependent on the US, which provided almost half of its LNG imports last year,” Makarewicz said, noting that Europe has had experience of jeopardizing its energy supply security by relying too much on a single source.
