VOA慢速英语2021--燃料价格上涨将对世界各地有何影响？

How Will Higher Fuel Prices Affect Different Parts of the World?

Reports of higher energy costs are causing concern around the world as pressure increases on businesses and people who buy goods and services.

The biggest shortage¹, the Associated Press reports, is a lack of natural gas in Europe. European countries import 90 percent of their supply. Much of it comes from Russia. European prices have increased by five times since the start of the year.

Experts blame several events for the gas shortage. They say demand increased after coronavirus restrictions² were lifted. They say the past cold winter reduced reserves. And the summer was less windy than usual, so less wind energy was generated³.

Europe's chief supplier, Russia's Gazprom, held back extra gas supplies during the summer to build up supplies in Russia. In addition to that, China's electricity demand has come back after the COVID-19 pandemic. China has bought up limited supplies of liquid natural gas, which is transported by ship, not pipeline⁴. There also are limited plants to export natural gas from the United States.

Europe pushes renewable energy

It is difficult to say how long higher fossil⁵ fuel prices will last, said Claudia Kemfert. She is an energy expert at the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin.

"The long-term answer that has to be taken out of this is to invest in renewables and energy saving," she said. Renewable energy comes from the wind and sun.

The European Union's executive⁶ commission⁷ urged member nations recently to speed up approvals for renewable energy projects. The group said "clean energy...is the best insurance against price shocks in the future."

However, some gas-dependent European industries are cutting back on manufacturing products. German chemical companies BASF and SKW Piesteritz have cut the production of ammonia, an important part of fertilizer.

That caused a problem for Hermann Greif, a farmer in Germany's area of southern Bavaria. He said he could not buy fertilizer for his crops.

"There's no product, no price, not even a contract," he said. "It's a situation we've never seen before." He said the situation might result in a smaller crop in the coming year.

High energy prices already were hitting German farmers, who need diesel⁸ fuel to operate machinery⁹ and to keep animals warm, said Greif. He grows corn to make biofuel, or fuel made from crops.

Higher heating costs?

People in the northern part of the world are expected to face higher costs for heating this winter. That includes in the United States, where officials have warned home heating prices could rise as much as 54 percent.

Governments in Spain, France, Italy and Greece have announced measures to help low-income households. The European Union has urged similar aid.

Much depends on the weather. Europe's gas reserves are usually rebuilt over the summer. But now they are at unusually low levels.

"A cold winter in both Europe and Asia would risk European storage levels dropping to zero," says Massimo Di Odoardo. He is with the research business Wood Mackenzie.

That would leave Europe dependent on additional natural gas from a new Russian pipeline or on Russia sending more gas through pipelines¹⁰ in Ukraine. The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea has not been approved in Europe. It may not begin operations until next year.

Kemfert in Berlin said Russian suppliers' decision to sell less gas on the open market shows they want "to put pressure on the early certification of Nord Stream 2."

Electricity shortages¹¹ hurt businesses, people

In China, power cuts have followed increased prices for coal and gas. Electric companies in some parts of the country are limiting electricity. Factories in Jiangsu province and Zhejiang in the southeast temporarily shut down in mid-September. That could affect export suppliers.

Chenchen Jewelry¹² Factory is in Dongyang, a city in Zhejiang. The factory faced power cuts over 10 days, general manager Joanna Lan said. The factory makes hairbands, paper products and gifts. Eighty to 90 percent of its goods are for export to the U.S., Europe and other markets. Orders were delayed "by at least a week," Lan said. "We had to buy generators¹⁴."

The biggest city in the northeast, Shenyang, turned off streetlights and elevators and cut power to restaurants and shops a few hours a day.

Jenny Yang is an energy market expert at IHS Markit. She said China's gas imports have jumped. However, increasing demand in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also has helped push up prices around the world.

In Brazil, higher gas and oil prices are a problem because a lack of rain has made hydroelectric dams less productive¹⁵. That has made electricity more costly¹⁶.

Rosa Benta is a 67-year-old from Sao Paulo. She fears she will no longer be able to provide for her unemployed¹⁷ family members.

"Several times, (energy company) Enel called me saying I had debt. I told them: ‘I'm not going to stop feeding my son to pay you,'" Benta said. "If they want to cut the electricity, they can come."

Words in This Story

reserves –n. a supply of something that is stored so that it can be used at a later time

fossil fuels –n.(pl.) fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) which are formed in the Earth from dead plant and animal matter

insurance –n. protection from bad things that may happen in the future

certification -–n. official approval to do something legally

generator¹³ –n. a machine that produces electricity

elevator –n. a machine used for carrying people and things to different levels in a building

1 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 generated   

a.生成的

参考例句：

• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。
• It generated much excitement and frenetic activity. 这使人们非常激动并导致了狂热的行动。

4 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

5 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

6 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

7 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

8 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

9 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

10 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

11 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

12 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

13 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

14 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

16 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

17 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。