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Economic analysis of US shale gas and implications for the EU

The Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), a non-profit policy research institute based in Paris, has published an economic analysis of US shale gas and implications for the EU.

Key points include:

• “Despite very low and ultimately unsustainable short-term prices of natural gas, the unconventional oil and gas revolution has had a minimal impact on the US macro-economy”
• “There is thus no evidence that shale gas is driving an overall manufacturing renaissance in the US.”
• “The US shale revolution will not lead to a significant, sustained decarbonisation of the US energy mix nor will it assure US energy security”
• “Oil imports continue to rise in monetary terms.”
• “There is also the risk that the unconventional oil and gas revolution further locks the US into an energy- and emissions-intensive capital stock.”
• “It is unlikely that the EU will repeat the US experience in terms of the scale of unconventional oil and gas production.”
• [If plans went ahead] “Shale production would not have significant macroeconomic or competitiveness impacts for Europe in the period to 2030- 2035.”