Conclusion

Relying on fossil gas is no longer a credible energy strategy

While futures prices indicate that the gas crisis may abate by 2023, there’s a growing risk that it will extend further into the 2020s. The crisis has laid bare the inherent risks of energy strategies overly reliant on fossil gas as a “transition fuel”. Similarly, the crisis is an important reminder that carbon pricing and market forces alone cannot guarantee a timely coal phase- out. 

To ensure that coal is phased out by 2030, as is required to stay on track for 1.5C,  it is essential that policymakers legislate to close coal power stations by this date. In parallel, they should also bring forward a policy framework which will secure clean energy infrastructure and efficiency investments at the speed and scale required to phase out both coal and fossil gas from electricity supply and deliver a clean electricity grid across Europe by 2035.