“Sectoral trends seen over the past 20 years shows that electricity prices have caused the EU to drop in the international competition pecking order for certain “volume” activities (aluminum, steel, in particular), and, overall, to suffer a marked decline in the share of manufacturing activities in European GDP. The electricity price differential between the EU, on the one hand, and China and the US, on the other, has increased since 2005, taking on considerable proportions during the 2022 energy crisis. Three factors emerge to account for this widening differential: the EU’s greater exposure than its main trading partners’ to fluctuations of global fossil fuel prices, a more marked carbon constraint in Europe, and, to a lesser extent, some arrangements governing bilateral contracting of renewable electricity for European corporations.”
Morten W. Langer
