Tackling the global energy crisis isn’t easy, especially if you don’t have easy access to energy or the economic resources to embrace your renewable alternatives.
It’s a vicious circle, the global climate crisis confronts us with extreme temperatures, harsh winters and hellish summers where people literally die from not having access to good heating or cooling.
It increases energy consumption to keep homes comfortable by saturating the system, consuming even more resources and this once again impacts the global climate.
Added to this is the global context of resource availability and price increases.
For the user, the problem is not only in the availability of these energies, but also in the financial resources to pay for them.
Many people have had to access loans outside the banking system to face debts with energy companies or to be able to invest in alternative energy systems. This trend is increasing despite the announcement at the end of 2022 of a €3 billion plan to contain 40% of households in the face of rising prices in the energy sector.
The causes of this context of climate and economic crisis
Despite international efforts to contain global warming, such as the Paris Agreement in 2015 to which Spain joined in 2017 with the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% compared to those emitted in 1990 or the closure of mines of Spanish coal in 2018, the crisis continues and must be faced.
The benefits of the Paris Agreement are clear and the right decisions have been made, but the transition to renewable energies comes with an economic cost that is starting to be felt in the pockets of Spaniards.
The last year of 2022 added another aggravating factor, the Ukraine-Russia conflict which triggered gas prices and limitations on its availability for local consumption and for EU countries.
At the beginning of 2022, Spain imported only 7% of gas to Russia, but after the year they increased and at very high prices.
Another conflict affected the import of gas to Spain, the breach of the treaty between Algeria and Spain due to the position assumed by President Sánchez in favor of Morocco in the dispute over the territory of Western Sahara.
The pipeline that carried the gas to the Iberian Peninsula via Morocco was closed, and Spain was obliged to transport the liquefied gas by ship to meet demand. Of course at very high costs.
The impact of the energy crisis on the Spanish economy
Around September 2022, inflation began, which first affected energy services directly related to the increase in oil, gas and carbon emission allowances, and then spread to the production of food and other products and services.
As a palliative measure, the Spanish government issued a decree that modified the Electric Social Bonus, favoring the most vulnerable sectors with considerable discounts on energy consumption bills.
What will happen with the energy crisis in Spain
Spain has all the potential to be the EU’s decarbonization hub, according to a report published by McKinsey & Company.
To do so, it will have to invest large sums of money and technology in the renewable energy sector.
With these actions, it will also achieve the objectives proposed by the National Integrated Plan for Energy and Climate and by the Paris Agreement.
Spain can achieve energy efficiency by investing capital in the wind sector, investing in the construction of wind farms in its vast territory.
Another alternative is presented to green hydrogen energy. Maersk, the shipping giant, plans to invest 10 billion euros in Spain to produce this sustainable fuel.
A promising future, but you have to go through the present
While the future for renewable energy supply and access is promising, there is still a long way to go in the transition.
And although governments strive to grant economic aid plans to make the energy crisis and the costs it entails more bearable, users are the most affected in their daily lives by a domino effect due to energy still dependent on the outside.
The remaining alternatives are access to bank loans, which are in greater demand every day, excluding a large part of the population. That’s why he access to personal credits They are the ideal option to deal with these crises in a simple and accessible way for everyone.