Although consumers across the United States are suffering from a protracted spike in the cost of gas and electricity, Europeans are dealing with even higher prices as the cold winter months approach.
According to a study conducted by the Household Energy Price Index, energy rates have skyrocketed in all of the 27 European Union member states as well as several other nations on the continent.
While electricity is up an average of 69% compared to last year, natural gas prices have soared even higher, representing a staggering 111% year-over-year spike. When combined, estimates show that Europeans are paying roughly 90% more on energy this year than they did in 2021.
The latest HEPI report cited “a combination of factors, such as increased demand connected to post-pandemic economic recovery and extraordinary weather conditions, the record-high prices for natural gas, and high CO2 emissions allowances” in explaining the rapid rise in energy prices.
Of course, strict green-energy policies and widespread boycotts of Russian energy exports have also contributed to the worsening problem.
In rare instances where costs have moderated or dropped slightly in recent weeks, the common cause involved subsidies approved by local governments.
As a result of surging costs and limited supply, many European citizens have begun demonstrating in public and staging strikes as forms of protest.
Andrea Kocsis, who helped organize one such protest in Germany, asserted: “We want to show that we urgently need financial relief for citizens that is socially balanced. The government is doing a lot but it is distributing funds with a watering can. People with lower income need more support than the wealthy.”
While Europe is bearing the brunt of the crisis at the moment, a growing number of experts believe that a similar problem is already brewing in the United States.
Instead of course correcting to unleash American energy and provide Americans with some relief this winter, President Biden continues to double down on the same out-of-touch, far-left policies that led to this energy crisis in the first place. It’s insane. https://t.co/beyXQFTGVr
— Sen. Dan Sullivan (@SenDanSullivan) November 8, 2022
Senior Market Analyst and Energy Analyst Phil Flynn of the PRICE Futures Group recently cited a number of reasons that he believes President Joe Biden is ushering in a domestic energy crisis.
“He’s weaponized the government against energy,” Flynn said. “He’s demonized U.S. oil and gas production. He has a treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, who openly told international investors to stop investing in fossil fuels. He’s turned the Securities and Exchange Commission on publicly traded companies to force them to reduce their carbon footprint or be fined by the government. He has paid opposition groups to sue oil and gas companies. And that’s just behind the scenes.”
Referencing Biden’s blatant attacks on the energy sector, such as “killing the Keystone pipeline” and “banning drilling on federal lands,” Flynn added: “He’s saying it’s a huge risk to invest in oil and gas in the United States because you don’t know what the government is going to do tomorrow.”
