Challenges of Energy Sector in the Next Decade
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Energy Expert
When Moscow launched a full-scale war against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Eu-ropean countries were not ready to quickly give up importing oil and its products, as well as natural gas, from Russia.
It took almost a year to replace Russian oil and its products. A substitute for na-tural gas was immediately available in the form of LNG, but unlike oil, imports of natural gas from Russia have not been restricted by sanctions so far.
Besides that, it is necessary to take into account climate policy, i.e. the decision of developed countries to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.
The author of the article showed that replacing fossil fuels in transport with electrical energy increases the latter’s consumption by at least two times in Estonia and as much as by three times in Latvia and Lithuania.
The production of the technology components, rare earths and semiconductor equipment needed for increasing the renewable energy production is even more concentrated than in the case of oil, and China is a major actor in this field.
The Western countries need international agreements and cooperation with Af-rican and South American countries.
Interconnected and functioning energy markets also reduce vulnerability. Having secure energy interconnections and supply channels is essential for the Baltic economies. The energy sector needs well-considered policy decisions to cope with the geopolitical and climate policy impacts.