It’s all about Energy

On one side of the Atlantic, we are witnessing a grab for Caribbean oil, with the aim of selling this precious liquefied gas at a premium to the increasingly ageing and unenterprising European continent. On our eastern flank, fossil fuels are fuelling a seemingly endless war. And it’s not just that the sale of oil and gas finances weapons, energy itself becomes a weapon, targeting and crippling the enemy’s power systems. “Freezing” Ukrainians is a strategy proven on the battlefield.  So far, this isn’t theory, it’s fact.

There is a broad political consensus: Europe can no longer anchor its economy on energy resources it does not possess. Thinking about development without seizing new sectors or new continents is revolutionary, and difficult to imagine, let alone organise.

Perhaps that is why so many positions stop at observation, rarely translating insight into consequences for our societal project. “We must achieve energy independence.” But how? The proposed solution is often to build “energy highways” across the continent, linking northern winds with southern sun to power the centre. Will these highways be secure? Could they be destroyed as easily as Ukrainian power plants?

Ukraine’s experience teaches us that energy security must also work at the neighbourhood level. Each community should be autonomous, capable of maintaining essential services independently. Local energy autonomy should be strongly embedded in European legislation and policy. Yet current discussions focus primarily on large-scale connectivity infrastructure and governance to support “big” investments.[i]

It’s not only about securing supply, it’s about keeping energy prices from undermining competitiveness and industrial capacity. Debates remain clouded, distracted by talk of exorbitant taxes, when for most companies the actual tax burden is very low. Industry leaders are calling for amendments to the carbon tax. At the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, the new major annual meeting, the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, responded cautiously, emphasising the need for investment in energy infrastructure.

Energy prices have become the Gordian knot of European policy. Why? Because the “meso” or intermediate dimension is often overlooked. There is the consumer/citizen on one side, the market and interconnections on the other.

However, the middle is neglected: micro-grids, neighbourhood heating and cooling, urban grid planning, and their interconnections are not priorities. With each reform of the emissions trading system (ETS), the focus is on granting more free allowances or on funding industrial decarbonisation, but not on strengthening the intermediate links, on supporting actions that reduce demand, increasing system flexibility, or lowering network reinforcement costs. Equally, opportunities to distribute the benefits of the energy transition more broadly are missed.

Sharing costs and benefits, ensuring system resilience, and betting on local, “in-house” energy are the priorities for tomorrow’s,and today’s security. This is the strategic debate that Europe still needs to have.

[i] Designing energy infrastructure for a climate-neutral Europe