The head of the International Energy Agency has said that Europe will be able to cope with the current crunch on natural gas supply because of the reserves it has, however, the situation doesn’t look too promising for next winter.
Speaking at an energy symposium in Berlin hosted by the German government, Fatih Birol said that, barring unforeseen events, “Europe will go through this winter with some economic and social headaches, bruises here and there” as a result of efforts to wean itself off Russian gas and the wider increase in energy costs resulting from the war in Ukraine.
Birol said that by next year, Russian gas supplies to Europe may end completely and emphasised that the European nations need to unite and start immediately preparing for next year’s situation.
With 75 percent of Russia’s gas exports and 55 percent of its oil going to Europe before the war, Moscow will also need to find new markets for its output, he said.
Source: Aljazeera.com