Hello, hope you are having a great Sunday. This week’s newsletter focuses on Europe’s gas supply chain and the rollout of 5G and sustainability.
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The Energy Supply Dilemma
The Russian-Ukraine war has brought challenges of the food and economic crisis following the supply chain disruptions. Another challenge has come forth after Russia cut its gas supply chain with Europe.
Critics highlighted that Russia is using it as a political weapon in the war.
Why is Russia cutting off the gas supply?
#1 Maintenance of the Nord Stream 1
Russian energy giant Gazprom recently announced that there would be a reduction in natural gas flow through Nord Stream 1 due to the turbine problems in the pipeline. It is one of the significant gas supply lines, transferring Russian gas to Europe via Germany.
The company highlighted that the pipeline that transmits 167 million cubic meters of gas per day would be cut from the 40% range last week to 20%.
#2 The Right Move?
With the reduced gas supply, European gas prices rose almost by 2%. Realising its upper hand, Russia has demanded that Europe pay for gas in the domestic currency, the Ruble. This step will support and strengthen the value of the Russian currency.
To this step, Poland, Bulgaria and Finland refused to agree with Russia. In retaliation, Russia has cut off their supplies.
#3 Impact on Europe
European Union imported 40% of its natural gas from Russia in 2021. Germany on the other hand was the largest importer in 2020. The UK just imported 4% of its needs from Russia.
As Russia restricts gas supply, this has caused global gas prices to rise. Gas prices have almost doubled in the UK over the last year.
#4 Plan of Action
EU countries are planning to lower the consumption of gas and reduce dependency on Russia by finding alternatives to it.
The plan highlights that Europe believes that it will be unable to meet goals to keep its citizens warm during the winter or refill the storage. Additionally, Europe's economic situation may depreciate further if gas is to be rationed.
(Sources: BBC, Anadolu Agency, AP News)
5G and Sustainability
India’s top telcos, Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Adani Enterprises are in the race to bid for the 5G spectrum. With the aim to offer speed ten times faster, 5G will enable billions of devices to share data in real-time.
In this age, where the concept of sustainability is in limelight, what role would 5G play?
Explaining the Sustainability factor
#1 Low carbon footprint
A study conducted by Nokia in collaboration with Spain’s Telefonica highlighted the fifth generation of 5G mobile broadband technology to be 90% more energy efficient per traffic unit than 4G networks.
Another research revealed, how 5G technology brings down carbon emissions by nearly 80% and reduces operating costs by almost a third.
#2 Reduction in Energy consumption
Certain features of 5G will reduce energy consumption as it will be 20 times more energy efficient than the older generations of mobile technologies.
Furthermore, by replacing older technologies with 5G, companies will reduce their energy consumption through improved power management.
#3 Sustainable Development Goals
5G can play a critical role in fulfilling the goals set under the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. With the expected penetration and advancement of technology, it would greatly influence and impact sectors like education, and healthcare- supporting access and availability of resources.