When Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, Europe immediately began finding alternative sources of natural gas (LNG). Early Europe was dependent on Russia for cheap gas and oil for decades, but now it needed other sources. In such a situation, Qatar emerged as a major option.
But now a new environmental and human rights policy of Europe Corporate Sustainability DILIGENCE Directive (CSDD) is annoying Qatar. Under this law, if a company damages human rights or environment, it will have to pay a heavy fine or pay compensation. Qatar’s Energy Minister described this law as “nonsense” and threatened that if Qatar companies were punished under this law, they would stop sending Europe to LNG. He has also written a letter to the European Commission.
Europe is taking this warning very seriously, as Qatar is Europe’s third largest LNG supplier. After excluding Russia, Europe was expected to get more gas from Qatar. But the problem is that Qatar is already selling large amounts of gas to China and has strong agreements with China. Qatar is almost double its production capacity by 2030, making him the world’s largest LNG supplier.
If Qatar stops giving gas to Europe and sends more gas to China, it may cause heavy energy crisis in Europe, and can cause complete dependence on America’s gas. This situation can be even more serious if China attacks Taiwan in 2027, as President Xi Jinping has asked his army to be ready.
