Will there be gas this winter? The question may seem absurd as a fourth heat wave hits France and the whole of Europe faces a scorching summer with its share of fires, droughts and water shortages.
However, this is the choice we made for this back-to-school issue, after our traditional summer break, relying in particular on the British weekly The Economist, which warned in mid-July of the risk of a major energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine:
“If you’ve spent the last few days grilling on a Mediterranean beach or roasting slowly on the streets of Berlin, London or Rome in the heat of the heat wave, winter temperatures are certainly the least of your worries. But make no mistake, winter is coming, and it’s going to be brutal and confrontational.”
Because the European Union is largely dependent on imports of Russian gas, which covers a quarter of its energy needs. To Western sanctions, Vladimir Putin replied by blackmailing gas supplies, the effects of which are already being felt, worries The Economist, which calls on European leaders to come out of their torpor.
On July 26, the latter agreed to reduce their consumption by 15% until next spring, but an agreement based on a voluntary reduction in consumption “is meaningless”, affirms Unherd. According to the British site, the whole of European cohesion is threatened. “The 27 Member States should present a united front, in order to brave together the current energy crisis. But we are far from it and, in one way or another, it is every man for himself.
Pour The Economist as for Unherdit is a question of holding a language of truth to the citizens on the heaviness of the decisions to come, because the invoice for the companies as for the private individuals promises to be salty. “Companies are already considering suspending operations, from aluminum smelters in Slovakia to fertilizer producers in the UK. Manufacturers need to plan for the long term, and electricity futures contracts (which are supposed to lock in energy costs) are reaching record prices for 2023 and 2024”, write again Unherd.
Same thing for individuals, explains The Economist :
“Consumers, who use gas directly, in their boilers and cookers, but also indirectly via the electricity grid [alimenté en partie par les centrales thermiques à gaz]are far from imagining what could await them.”
For now, tariff shields protect them, but until when?
We understand better, reading our file, the urgency of anticipating now a reduction in energy consumption. Illuminated advertising banned in France, calls to limit the use of air conditioning in Greece, reduced speed on the roads in Ireland, cold showers in swimming pools in Germany… The Guardian identified the first measures announced in this direction across Europe. Will that be enough? Nothing is less sure.
The paradoxical effect of this crisis is that it is reviving drilling and natural gas exploitation and storage projects everywhere, explains CNN. And this to the detriment of the climate. From Denmark to Italy, via Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, “we are witnessing a 180 degree turn”, explains an expert at the American site. The problem is that most often these are long-term projects, which will in no way solve the crisis that is looming in the coming months.
And this renewed interest in fossil fuels does not bode well for the energy transition. How to get out? What strategies to adopt? Can we do without nuclear power? Where are we with wind, solar, marine energies? All these questions are precisely at the heart of our new special issue, The Energy Atlas, more topical than ever, on sale at your newsagent since August 10. This file is an extension of that. There is still time to act, wants to believe the foreign press. And us with. Good reading.