Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.
EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Briefed” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms.
You can find the transcript here if you prefer reading:
European households are suffering high energy bills.
As long as the war in the Middle East drags on, options to reduce this burden remain limited.
One major reason? Europeans are highly dependent on gas.
Can the EU actually cut its gas consumption?
With the conflict in the Middle East dragging on, there’s little hope that gas and oil prices will drop dramatically in the coming weeks.
So, we need to think about short-term solutions to ease the impact.
While Europeans don’t source much of their energy directly from the Middle East, gas prices are set internationally — just like oil.
Some EU governments have already taken emergency measures to reduce the impact on their citizens.
So far, efforts have focused on oil:
Italy and Slovenia temporarily cut fuel taxes.
Hungary and Croatia capped diesel and gasoline prices.
But what about gas?
In Spain, the government temporarily reduced taxes on electricity.
Yet few countries are willing to follow suit — because energy taxes are a substantial revenue source they can’t easily do without.
At the EU level, options also seem limited.
The European Commission could require member states to reduce their gas consumption.
It did just that in 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and it worked: within two years, EU countries cut their consumption by 18 percent, exceeding the initial target by three percent.
Today, the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris recommends repeating this measure.
Is it possible, and how effective would it be?
It is possible — but first, the EU would have to sign up for it. Then, member states would need to meet the reduction target.
How?
By tapping into energy sources other than gas, for example.
In 2022, Germany extended — and even reactivated — some coal plants to replace gas.
This option is far from ideal for the climate. But it provided short-term relief for households.
Another alternative? Nuclear power. But nuclear is already prioritized over gas plants in normal times.
The real game-changer seems to be enewable energy. And that’s where a country like Spain stands out in times of crisis.
In March, electricity prices in Spain were below 50 euros per megawatt-hour, two to three times cheaper than in Italy.
Why? Because Italy is heavily dependent on gas.
But expanding renewables isn’t something you can just switch on overnight.
The other lever is to directly reduce energy consumption.
Is that really feasible?
Remote work, lower heating, and reduced public lighting — there are plenty of options.
But their impact is limited.
Why? Because the drop in gas consumption after 2022 was mostly due to milder winters and an industrial slowdown.
That doesn’t mean individual efforts are useless. But the public also has to be on board.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, and then the war in Ukraine, consumers are tired of restrictions.
Especially businesses, which bear the brunt of every crisis.
So, EU governments aren’t rushing to call for energy sobriety.
In short, replacing gas with other technologies or fuels—and promoting energy sobriety—are viable solutions.
But they face two major challenges: limited effectiveness and debatable side effects.
