EU sees challenges ahead for climate policy
EU warns of energy price impact on transition
Commission urges against knee-jerk policy reactions as record energy prices make transition more abrupt and difficult
Record high energy prices in Europe are making the green transition “more abrupt and difficult” and policymakers should be prepared for a scenario in which prices “get out of hand”, the European Commission says in an end of year address. Natural gas prices in northwest Europe have surged in recent months and hit record levels in December, drawing on concerns about storage levels and the outlook for flows from key supplier Russian amid tensions over gas transit country Ukraine. More expensive gas has led to increased use of coal-fired power plants, even with surging carbon emissions prices. High energy prices are also feeding into inflationary pressures which threaten to slow the progress of
Also in this section
12 March 2026
Role of world’s largest carbon cap-and-trade market under scrutiny as war in Iran threatens to drive EU energy costs to unsustainable levels
10 March 2026
Europe urgently needs to bring more projects to FID, as CCS investors warn they might divert capital to faster-growing regions
9 January 2026
A shift in perspective is needed on the carbon challenge, the success of which will determine the speed and extent of emissions cuts and how industries adapt to the new environment
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty
