throwaway because "we have free speech in the west!" but God knows what I'll have to endure by goldfishes.
> This is maybe a dumb question. But I need to ask it.
Judging by the answers you're getting, the question looks anything but dumb.
> Energy prices go up in a really crazy way. Why?
Because Europe decided to commit suicide. Literally.
> Is it just the conflict in Ukraine? Why would that make the prices go so up; isn’t it mostly natural gas from there?
Look at the data. Prices were going up since 2020. Russian cheap gas was the only deterrent, but now we need to "free Ukraine" ... well that freedom will cost every EU government the ability to rule, because if there's one thing a population won't allow is turning poor rapidly. I'm very concerned about Italy tbh.
> Doesn’t Europe also have coal, nuclear and renewables;
No, not enough for the next 5-10 years. There are also political problems: global warming and fear of nuclear disaster.
> and import of oil from Middle Eastern countries?
The OPEC countries did not bring the oil prices down. That tells all you need to know about how they're seeing the world: unipolar or multi-polar? Not picking a side, is a new thing. No one would go against the NATO in 2005, but now countries are not willing to pick a side - this helps Russia in this conflict. Russia is not as isolated as the mainstream make them to be, unfortunately.
> This is maybe a dumb question. But I need to ask it.
Judging by the answers you're getting, the question looks anything but dumb.
> Energy prices go up in a really crazy way. Why?
Because Europe decided to commit suicide. Literally.
> Is it just the conflict in Ukraine? Why would that make the prices go so up; isn’t it mostly natural gas from there?
Look at the data. Prices were going up since 2020. Russian cheap gas was the only deterrent, but now we need to "free Ukraine" ... well that freedom will cost every EU government the ability to rule, because if there's one thing a population won't allow is turning poor rapidly. I'm very concerned about Italy tbh.
> Doesn’t Europe also have coal, nuclear and renewables;
No, not enough for the next 5-10 years. There are also political problems: global warming and fear of nuclear disaster.
> and import of oil from Middle Eastern countries?
The OPEC countries did not bring the oil prices down. That tells all you need to know about how they're seeing the world: unipolar or multi-polar? Not picking a side, is a new thing. No one would go against the NATO in 2005, but now countries are not willing to pick a side - this helps Russia in this conflict. Russia is not as isolated as the mainstream make them to be, unfortunately.