The Tricky Balancing Act of Phasing out Russian Gas

Introduction

The war in Ukraine exposed how interconnected and interdependent global supply chains and energy value chains have become. The EU imports over 40% of its crude oil and natural gas from Russia and the European Commission’s decision to impose sanctions on Russian energy products has caused reverberations across the EU. Inflation has risen to unprecedented levels, rising to 8% in May 2022 and EU countries have imposed energy caps to protect vulnerable consumers that are exposed to higher energy prices and a risk of a protracted…