Energy Markets Under Stress: Some Reflections on Lessons From the Energy Crisis in Europe

Michael Pollitt

Cambridge Working Papers in Economics from Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge

Abstract: This paper examines the 2021-2023 energy crisis in Europe exacerbated by the energy consequences of the full-scale Russia – Ukraine war which began in February 2022. We show that this is an historically unprecedented price shock to both gas and electricity prices. We then draw on lessons from UK energy policy in World War Two to inform European energy policy during this crisis. In light of this, we examine actual policy responses by the European Union (EU). The EU has responsibility for the European single market in electricity and gas (which also formally includes Norway and effectively includes the UK) and has attempted to co-ordinate EU-27 responses to the crisis. We highlight four good and three bad policy responses observed across Europe. We conclude with longer-run lessons for energy and climate policy arising from this gas and electricity price shock.

Keywords: energy crisis; single market in energy; wartime (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L94 L95 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-12-29
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-eec, nep-ene, nep-eur, nep-mac and nep-reg
Note: mgp20
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/pub ... pe-pdfs/cwpe2350.pdf

Related works:
Working Paper: Energy markets under stress: some reflections on lessons from the energy crisis in Europe (2023)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cam:camdae:2350

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Cambridge Working Papers in Economics from Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jake Dyer ().