Sharp Decline in EU's Natural Gas Consumption
www.enerdata.net
What drivers behind that shift? The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 and its aftermath exposed Europe's heavy reliance on Russian natural gas imports, making its energy systems vulnerable to geopolitical instability and supply disruptions.

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TLDR: Mainly good news as power generation from natural gas has dropped significantly, largely replaced by renewables, despite rise in electricity prices during the energy crisis has partly discouraged both industrial and residential consumers from switching to electric alternatives. Energy-intensive industries reduced gas consumption either despite economic challenges, but are still struggling.

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Electricity generation from natural gas has fallen by 26% since 2021 […] While some initial switching in 2022 involved coal or oil, renewables have been the main replacement, with their share of total power generation increasing from 39% in 2021 to nearly 50% in 2024. The decrease in total electricity generation has also contributed to lower gas demand, as the EU’s overall electricity consumption has declined since 2021.

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While the overall manufacturing industry has remained stable (-1% since 2021), energy-intensive sectors such as metallurgy (-11%), non-metallic minerals (-15%), and chemicals (-10%) have seen sharp declines, largely due to high energy costs affecting competitiveness.

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sharp rise in electricity prices during the energy crisis, which has partly discouraged both industrial and residential consumers from switching to electric alternatives. Additionally, low economic and demographic growth and the decline of energy-intensive industries have contributed to an overall reduction in energy demand, slowing down the need for electrification. This suggests that, in the short term, electrification is not yet driving the decarbonisation of final energy consumption at the scale needed to replace natural gas entirely.

  • Miles O'Brien@startrek.websiteEnglish
    8·
    3 days ago

    we’re very far from that.

    As usual, the only thing keeping humanity back is… Humanity.

    Petty differences and ancient squabbles that turn deadly over the years has turned humanity into crabs scuttling around a bucket.

    We have the capability to feed, house, and clothe everyone on the planet. We have the capability of electrifying every industry on earth.

    The only things keeping us from doing so are “it’s expensive” or “the logistics are too complex”

    All of which sounds to me like children whining “it’s too haaaaaard” when told to clean their room.

    By no means am I saying you are wrong, we are very far from all that. It’s just our own fault.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      The only things keeping us from doing so are “it’s expensive” or “the logistics are too complex”

      I mean, when it comes to food, housing and clothing it’s not even that. That shit is cheap in the really poor places where it’s needed most, and the logistics aren’t too bad if you were to imagine away wars and give a bit of flexibility on edge cases.

      Clothing has mostly been solved by accident, even; all that unusable president Harris swag and similar has to go somewhere.