Global Energy Activities in the COVID-19 and the Post-COVID-19 Periods: Brief Discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic is the worst economic shock since the Great Depression in 1930s. It has caused economic decrease in a vast majority of the economic sectors, having also  negative social impact. It may deepen social differences and largely contribute to the poverty  resulting in that the most vulnerable economic players may lose contact with those developed.  It has also negatively affected the global energy markets, bringing price volatility and instability, disrupting some energy supplies, weakening the energy security, hampering energy investments, and increasing unemployment in the energy sector. Strengthening cooperation in the currently globalised world, protecting critical supplies and infrastructure, and keeping multilateralism while following the cornerstone global policies, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, may be of potential to effectively recover from the COVID-19 crisis and immediately continue with the economic growth starting from the point from which the global economic growth dropped. Observing the principle of rule of law in these efforts is crucial without which such growth cannot be reached, as has been experienced from the lessons learned in the past. This also applies to the world trade with its legal framework substantially represented by the WTO law.

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic/Crisis, World/Global Trade, Energy Trade/Market, Digital Economy Transformation, Green Energy Transition, EU Taxonomy.

*Boris' paper is the first one in the yearbook linked below