Europe's Covid-19 impact to stretch into 2021
Forecaster predicts that countries will take a managed approach, spreading the outbreak over many months
Consultancy Rystad Energy expects the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on European countries, and thus their energy demand, to last “the entirety of 2020 and, in some cases, into 2021”, as nations opt for a more gradualist quarantine method of tackling the outbreak rather than the East Asian lockdown approach. CEO Jarand Rystad concludes that the lockdowns rolled out by countries such as China to slow the rapid spread of the virus are not sustainable in the long term in Europe as injection rates will simply spike again once the measures are withdrawn. Instead, Rystad expects countries to have to manage widespread exposure with measures tailored to limit infections to a manageable burden
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
