Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, warns: Europe could run out of fuel this summer with the start of the holiday season. The energy expert sees the current energy crisis as much greater than in the two oil crises of 1973 and 1979/80, which is why he is calling on European countries to take further austerity measures to prevent an acute fuel shortage.
International Energy Agency chief warns of fuel shortages in summer
According to Fatih Birol, the market for crude oil is already very tight. “The oil markets could be tight next summer. When the main holiday season starts in Europe and the USA, the demand for fuel will increase. Then there could be bottlenecks: for diesel, petrol or paraffin, for example, especially in Europe,” Birol said in an interview with Der Spiegel.
According to Birol, Europe is not only dependent on crude oil supplies from abroad, but also on imports of oil products. “Some exporting countries, such as China, are imposing export bans; they want to protect their own consumers,” says Birol.
Energy crisis is bigger than oil crises in the 1970s
The IEA chief believes the energy crisis is much bigger than the oil shocks of the 1970s. In his estimation, the current crisis will also last much longer than back then. “Back then it was only about oil. Now we have an oil crisis, a gas crisis and an electricity crisis all at the same time,” Birol notes.
Birol calls on Germany to save more energy
Germany in particular must do more to save energy, Birol demands. Measures such as the nine-euro ticket for regional bus and rail transport are not enough to avoid a fuel shortage. According to Birol, Germany should at least introduce a speed limit for the duration of the war in Ukraine. “Surely that would not mean a big change for people’s daily lives. We are in wartime, in an energy crisis, and we’d better prepare for even more difficult times. And driving a few kilometres per hour slower is only a tiny compromise compared to the suffering of the people in Ukraine,” he says.
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