The economist Clò: “we can’t do without gas”

The current energy crisis “is also the consequence of our mistakes and in particular of the total absence of Europe. In short, it is the chronicle of an announced death. You did not have to be a genius to understand, 6-7 months ago, the tsunami that then it would come. We did not want to understand and implement the necessary actions to mitigate the crisis that was coming. Once it happened, we tried to buffer ex post. Now we will announce again rising gas electricity prices that are always becoming more unbearable for families and businesses “. This was stated by the director of the quarterly ‘Energia’ and of the blog ‘RivistaEnergia.it’, Alberto Clò denouncing in particular the absolute inertia of the EU while the price of gas is skyrocketing. In mid-2020, the economist notes in a conversation with Adnkronos, the price of gas “was less than $ 2 / Mil.Btu. At the end of 2020 it was $ 10 and today it has reached over $ 50. Where were the controllers of the market? prices are rising and we are not trying to understand why this happens. In mid-2021 we saw that the level of our stocks was half of what it should have been but we did not want to understand and act “. Now, underlines Clò, “there are those who speak of a temporary crisis but I fear it will continue in 2022. When we come out of winter, prices will probably drop but the problem is structural and therefore will remain. There is no gas around the world. “. According to the economist, “we should partially modify the criteria for setting final prices, today wholly anchored to spot prices”. Faced with this situation, the EU has mostly remained inert, says the economist. “No diplomatic action has been initiated with Russia to reach an agreement. On the contrary, the wall against wall has been chosen. But the knife on the side of the handle is held by the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin”, underlines Clò. In this crisis “Europe did not exist”. In these two months, he observes, European governments “have taken decisions opposite to those they should have taken in order to respect the Green Deal”. The United Kingdom, notes the former Minister of Industry, “has reactivated old coal plants, in Germany they have increased coal production and France has decided not to abandon nuclear power but rather to relaunch by focusing on the new generation” . The crisis, says Clò, “has shown the cracks in the ecological transition. With the Green Deal, prices will increase further and it is a path that, at the moment, it is not possible to pursue”. Gas, explains the economist, “is essential. We cannot do without it. It is essential to guarantee energy coverage and to compensate for the discontinuity of renewables”. Precisely for this reason “oil and energy companies should return to investing. Investments have fallen from 800 to 250 billion dollars. If they do not increase investments, supply will not increase”. The energy transition, Clò continues, “means an end to fossils in a few decades but it is not possible. We are hostages of oil”.