The Impact of European Environmental Policies on Energy Prices. Possible Solutions in the Black Sea Region

Abstract

Even if in Europe the costs of the transition to a green economy are reflected in the final consumer’s bills and in the prices of finished products - an effect already felt in the Community - the necessity to clean up the economy cannot be disputed. However, Europeans need to determine if the priority is to give up conventional energy or to develop the green energy production, because it is becoming increasingly clear that the two objectives cannot be achieved simultaneously without affecting the purchasing power of Europeans. Within this context, the study involves: a) the statistical analysis of the impact of the conventional energy overtaxation and the renewable energy subsidization on the average price charged by suppliers for final consumers on the Romanian market in the first three quarters of 2021 and b) to identify the correlation coefficient between the spot price for energy on the Romanian market and the share of renewable energy in the national mix for the same period. The objective of the research is to assess the costs paid by the final consumers within the context of the energy transition and the production capacity of renewable sources that must be added to the National Energy System for their amortization. The results show the importance of the Black Sea basin in the regional energy equation and its potential to become a point of attraction for European energy investments.

Keywords

• clean economy
• conventional energy
• green energy
• over taxation
• subsidization
• black sea