Lessons Learned from Europe's Energy Crisis

Abstract: While U.S. and European policymakers frequently blame Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 for the current European energy crisis, in reality, the crisis emerged due to European policies. These policies include: the decision not to import sufficient natural gas volumes from a diverse set of suppliers, lack of attention to baseload needs, and limitations imposed on natural gas contract length. Despite the gravity of the energy crisis which is leading to the collapse of many energy-intensive industries in Europe, Brussels has not undertaken new policies that can fundamentally solve its energy crisis. The United States can draw many lessons from the case of Europe's energy crisis in order to avoid a similar predicament.

Bio: Prof. Brenda Shaffer is an international energy and foreign policy specialist, focusing on politics and energy in the Caspian region, energy security policies, European energy security, ethnic politics in Iran, and Eastern Mediterranean energy. She is a faculty member at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Prof. Shaffer is also Senior Advisor for Energy at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank and a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center in Washington, DC. Ms. Brenda recently published the book-- Iran is more than Persia: Ethnic Politics in Iran and is currently co-authoring a textbook on operational energy for the U.S. Department of Defense.