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Natural-gas shortages threaten governments' green goals
天然气短缺威胁着政府的环保目标
Yet another crucial global market has gone from glut to shortage at breakneck speed. Last September in Europe it cost €119 ($139) to buy enough gas to heat the average home for a year and the continent's gas-storage facilities were brimming. Today it costs €738 and stocks are scarce. Even America, which has an abundance of shale gas, has seen prices more than double—albeit from a much lower level—and could see further increases if its winter is a cold one.
又一个极其重要的全球市场迅速从过剩变成了短缺。去年9月，欧洲一个普通家庭一年供暖所需天然气花费为119欧元(约139美元)，而且那时欧洲大陆的天然气储备绰有余裕。如今欧洲家庭天然气年均花销飙升至738欧元，且储量告急。即使是页岩气储量充足的美国，其价格也上涨了一倍多，尽管涨价前的初始价格相对低很多。如果美国今冬天气寒冷，价格还会进一步上涨。
The shortage has many causes. A cold European spring and a hot Asian summer boosted energy demand. Rebounding industrial production has lifted the global appetite for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Russia has been piping less gas into European stockpiles. Hawks suspect it of trying to spook the market and ensure its new Nord Stream 2 pipeline is approved. But it has also faced disruptions, including a fire at a processing plant in Siberia.
天然气的短缺有很多原因。欧洲寒冷的春天和亚洲炎热的夏天增加了人们的能源需求。工业生产的复苏提高了全球对液化天然气(LNG)的需求。俄罗斯一直在减少向欧洲输送天然气。鹰派怀疑俄罗斯试图引发市场恐慌，以确保新的北溪2号天然气管道获得批准。但俄罗斯自身也面临各种阻碍，例如西伯利亚一家天然气处理厂发生了火灾。
Gas has been plugging gaps in power production from other sources. The wind did not blow much in Europe this summer, while droughts interfered with hydropower output. The rising price of the permits needed to emit carbon in the EU has made coal expensive. So there is little alternative to burning gas for electricity as well as for heating homes. Whereas the world economy's other bottlenecks—for container ships and microchips—have unleashed a capital-expenditure boom, investment in fossil fuels is in long-term decline.
天然气一直被用来填补因其他能源短缺而产生的供能缺口。今年夏天，欧洲风力不大，而水力发电也受到了干旱影响。欧盟碳排放许可价格上涨也使燃煤成本攀升。因此，除了燃气发电和供暖之外，人们几乎没有其他选择。尽管世界经济中的其他瓶颈都已迎来资本投入的激增，如集装箱货轮和微芯片领域，但化石燃料方面的投资却长期处于下降趋势。
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