Current status

Whether it is Brent crude oil or American WTI crude oil, both have recently broken the $80/barrel mark, setting a multi-year high; American people have been facing gasoline prices higher than $3 per barrel for many consecutive months; European natural gas prices The surge in electricity prices triggered a doubling of electricity prices, long queues lined up in front of British gas stations, and many industries closed due to power outages.

In Asia, China’s “power curtailment wave”, the “factory of the world,” has swept across many provinces; Lebanon’s power outages across the country has no hope of recovery in the short term; and the coal stocks in some power plants in India have all been exhausted. 

Reason

The root cause of the current energy crisis is the sharp decline in the elasticity of traditional energy products' production capacity, and the fuse is triggered by extreme weather. Since 2020, the epidemic has dragged down the clearing of some production capacity, and the acceleration of global carbon emission reduction policies has continued to curb the willingness of corporate capital expenditures, resulting in a sharp decline in the capacity flexibility of natural gas and other traditional energy industries. As extreme weather has severely dragged down green energy power generation and triggered a surge in demand for traditional energy generation, the gap between supply and demand for natural gas and thermal coal has greatly expanded, and prices have soared. And this finally triggered the power crisis.

In the short term, with the arrival of winter and the seasonal increase in overall electricity consumption, the supply of superimposed traditional energy products is difficult to expand significantly, and the current energy crisis may further ferment. In the medium and long term, under the background of global carbon neutrality, the traditional energy production capacity is shrinking, the green new energy supply fluctuates greatly, and the superimposed energy storage system takes a long time to build. Become more frequent.

How to respond

In 2015, 194 countries and the European Union signed the most important international agreement on climate change, the Paris Agreement, and set targets such as "carbon peak" and "net zero emissions". More and more countries have taken steps in the field of environmental protection. A substantial step. In 2020, renewable energy power generation has accounted for half of the German power market, nearly three times that of 10 years ago; South Africa has launched a US$2.7 billion plan to promote the development and utilization of renewable energy such as photovoltaics and hydrogen energy by local mining companies The United Kingdom is building offshore wind power on a large scale by virtue of its long coastline and high wind speed; France uses its abundant offshore wind, water and forest resources to develop wind power and solar energy; China accelerates the transition to clean energy, from the development of renewable energy to the promotion of electric vehicles, etc. The fields are in the forefront of the world.

However, it is not easy to say goodbye to fossil energy. One of the biggest obstacles is how to maintain a stable output of renewable energy. But unlike natural gas or coal, wind power, hydropower, and solar power are more constrained by weather factors.

The research direction of renewable energy in the future will be how to store intermittent power generation and convert it into stable power. However, the cost of R&D and construction of energy storage equipment is high, and it will take a long time to achieve large-scale use.  

The development of new energy is the future of mankind

   In the context of global “carbon neutrality”, traditional energy production capacity is shrinking day by day, while green new energy supply fluctuates greatly. The two interact with each other, and the outbreak of energy crises may become more frequent within a period of time. The human society cannot always rely on the earth resources that are readily available. The earth resources are limited, and the development of human society is unlimited. It is the responsibility of mankind to find a sustainable green energy path.

Climate change is an environmental crisis faced by all mankind, and no one can be alone in it. Storms, floods, and wildfires have intensified on a global scale. Air pollution affects the health of hundreds of millions of people. The increasingly unpredictable weather has caused immeasurable damage to the livelihoods of people in all countries. Therefore, only vigorously developing new energy is the future of mankind.