Europe Braces for Billions in Writedowns at Stranded Gas Assets - Bloomberg
Europe Braces for Billions in Writedowns at Stranded Natural Gas Assets - Bloomberg
Europe Braces for Billions in Writedowns at Stranded Gas Assets
- Germany prepares for gas grids and boilers to become redundant
- Other European countries are still investing in gas networks
Vapor emitted from a gas heating system chimney during freezing temperatures in Berlin, on Jan. 8. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
For the past four years, the Bavarian city of Augsburg has been warning homeowners that gas supplies could be switched off by 2030 as fossil fuels are phased out.
It’s a blunt message on the potentially seismic impact of the shift away from natural gas in Europe. Not only could households be landed with redundant gas boilers, but those that can’t afford to install heat pumps or aren’t connected to district heating systems could be saddled with higher bills as grid operators pass on costs to a dwindling pool of customers.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”