In brief | 13 March '26

Ember: Latest energy shock reminds Europe of its risky gas reliance

Reliance on gas for electricity generation varies across the EU, exposing some countries more than others to the risk of rising bills.

TIME: Wars like Ukraine and Iran are pushing countries to rethink how they get their energy

Many countries will want to deploy clean energy at home faster. But fragmented supply chains may make it harder and more expensive.

Bloomberg: EU weighs looser carbon rules, state aid to cut energy costs

The European Commission is considering relaxing carbon-permit supply rules and allowing more state aid as part of an emergency plan to cut spiking power prices, according to people familiar with the plans.

NYTimes: Surging energy costs put German industry ‘really in danger’

Four years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring, the war in Iran is posing another challenge to efforts to revive European factories.

Montel: Now is wrong time to create German gas reserve – RWE CEO

Rushing through a national gas reserve would be a mistake, the CEO of RWE, Germany’s biggest power provider, said.

The Guardian view on a green wake-up call for Friedrich Merz: Europe’s political centre loses its way again – editorial

The German chancellor and his Social Democrat coalition partners need to learn the right lessons, after an election reverse in Germany’s third-largest state.

IEEFA: EU Clean Energy Investment Strategy underestimates barriers slowing renewables deployment

The EU’s new Clean Energy Investment Strategy fails to address the structural bottlenecks impacting renewables: permitting delays, judicial appeals, supply chain fragility and workforce shortages.