The Double Whammy of Energy Shocks and Rising Inflation Could Bring Mass Unrest to Europe

According to global risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, civil unrest could be around the corner across Europe.

The intelligence company published a new civil unrest index report that showed how over 50% of the 198 countries studied by the index witnessed an uptick in civil unrest over the course of the past quarter.

“The world is facing an unprecedented rise in civil unrest as governments of all stripes grapple with the impacts of inflation on the price of staple foods and energy,” principal analyst Torbjorn Soldvedt observed.

“The data, covering seven years, shows that the last quarter saw more countries witness an increase in risks from civil unrest than at any time since the Index was released,” he added.

Soldvedt believes things could get even worse.

“With more than 80% of countries around the world seeing inflation above 6%, socioeconomic risks are reaching critical levels. Almost half of all the countries on the CUI are now categorized as high- or extreme-risk, and a large number of states are expected to experience a further deterioration over the next six months.”

Irina Slav of OilPrice.com noted that the countries with the heightened risk of protests include “Germany, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Slav offered some context to the energy that’s unfolding across Europe:

“Europe has been badly shaken by an energy crunch that began last year due to low energy production and low gas storage levels, worsened this year after Russia invaded Ukraine and the EU responded with sanctions and is about to get worse still as the sanction push continues with a price cap on Russian oil shipments to be discussed by G7 today.”

Europe has no one to blame but itself. It has decided to become a satrapy of the United States, especially on geopolitical affairs. As a result, it’s now waging a sanctions war against Russia — an economic own-goal of colossal proportions. On top of that, most of Europe has been consumed by green mania, much to the detriment of its energy sovereignty.

Public policy has consequences, something that Europe is learning the hard way.

 

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