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European companies are increasingly becoming uncompetitive as the slowdown in
Europe’s shale gas ambitions tightens the already though economic conditions on the
continent, due to the sovereign debt crisis and low growth. (Mark Scott 2013: p. 1)
European fuel costs are roughly double compared to those of the U.S. and the spread
between those two is believed to widen even further in the near future. This trend might
have serious implications on theeconomic development ofEurope.
Conclusion
European policy makers face an ambiguous situation: On the one hand the public opinion
clearly favours renewable energy over (shale) gas while on the other hand the supply
ofcheaper energy isbadly needed by the economy. It’s rather unlikely that wewill
experience a‘European Shale Gas Revolution’ in the upcoming decade, but also European
policymakers need to put afocus on natural gas (Mark Scott 2013: p. 1). Itwill be
the only resource offering asolid trade-off between cheap energy supply and low emission
extraction. Additionally, it will diversify the energy mix and make the continent
less dependent onoil and gas imports. Sothe real question European policy makers
should consider isnot whether they want tocapitalize onEurope’s shale gas reserves,
but ratheriftheycan effort not to.
References
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Annika Breidthardt (2011): German government wants nuclear exit by 2022 at latest.
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retrieved 28.04.2013
AnthonyAndrews et al. (2009): Unconventional Gas Shales: Development,
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