Europe is a cold country and requires energy to sustain itself. As it is the months of extreme winters are approaching Europe, in such a situation, it suffers from a major energy crisis and high prices.

Price increases: the wholesale natural gas bills have soared high in some countries of Europe like the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. As a result of this, the population is fed up with paying high energy bills to sustain the cold weather.

Sources of power declining: there are various factors that need to be taken into consideration for Europe’s declining power supply-

1. Depletion of natural gas mines during a cold spring in Europe.

2. As a result of this, natural gas stocks have depleted and there is a sudden height in the demands after the COVID-19 crisis.

3. China is consuming Europe’s LPG.

4. Lesser market supply of natural gas by Russia due to production problems and higher domestic demands.

5. No coal mining during the summers.

6. The windmill farms have also been stopped in the summers.

7. Delayed maintenance work

8. Fire in the power cable that transmits energy from France

Picture courtesy: CNN

Are the countries prepared? As the depletion in supply transforms into a total blackout crisis, different countries have different takes on this.

1. Spain- announced emergency measures to cut the bill of energy.

2. France- makes a one-time €100 ($117) payment to nearly 6 million lower-income households to satisfy their energy needs. But the question is, would it be enough?

3. UK- it has not yet confirmed to which extent they would provide support to the citizens regarding energy needs.

4. Other parts- food shortage is surging high

5. Germany- declared a total nuclear power blackout by 2022

Along with the fear of draining energy, the Europeans are also worried about the power crisis. They fear that the power supply would fall short to meet their daily needs, especially in the winters.

The diverging fortunes of the UK and EU: why is the energy crisis acute in the UK?

The energy crisis is a problem in the whole of Europe, but it is especially affecting Britain because of the supply crunch. Fire breakouts and lower production are the leading causes behind this crunch. Also, the prices of natural gases are particularly high in the UK which has put foreign production off. Most of the companies are now preventing producing anything in Britain as they cannot afford such high energy prices.

During the Brexit from the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson didn’t sign any deal on energy and energy-related crises. This made the situation even worse in Britain. They do not have cooperation from the European Union because they have signed out of the group. That means whatever crisis they face, they will have to solve it alone.

Apart from this, inflation is particularly high in the UK for almost 2 decades. Due to the increase in the value of money, the problem seems even bitter. The people are negatively affected by the high prices of goods and these prices are due to the shortage of workers. On top of that, the rising energy costs are costing Britain too much! The supply chains of energy have been disrupted, leading to a closure of other industries as well (because everything runs on power).

Winter of discontent:

The following winter is going to be a winter of discontent for the whole of Europe as it struggles to meet its power needs. Ironically, the continent that gave birth to the Industrial Revolution is now on the verge of total energy depletion. What does it suggest to us?

Didn’t we cause serious harm to the environmental factors, which gave a result in unprecedented climate change harming us in return? Didn’t the Europeans exploit their energy resources enough to face this crisis?

For over 2 centuries, Europe and other continents have exploited non-renewable energy resources ever since the industrial revolution. And now, as a result, they are paying a heavy price. I think it is the right time to learn a lesson. The non-renewable resources will end one day and it is quite predictable. We should not only loosen up on our energy requirements but also switch to other modes of generating renewable energy too. The greener and cleaner earth, foreseeing sustainable development should be the ultimate goal.