Europe's Leaders Prepare Citizens for Winter Sacrifices: 'End of Abundance'

Energy bills are soaring in Europe, as the continent faces spiraling inflation at the same time as the worst energy crisis since the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s and 1980s. As winter approaches with no relief in sight, European leaders are telling their citizens the worst is yet to come.

The current energy crisis in Europe, triggered by rising global gas demand, has been significantly exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In an attempt to disentangle itself from the Kremlin and cut its dependence on Russian oil and gas, the European Union (EU) has agreed to ban nearly all Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

In 2021, the EU imported 40 percent of its natural gas supply from Russia and 27 percent of its imported oil.

Those countries which most relied on Russian oil and gas—Germany and Italy—are moving forward to find alternative energy sources and boost their energy autonomy, but there are doubts whether the continent can really find alternative supplies.

What Europeans are immediately faced with is a winter of hardship.

Speaking at the French government's first cabinet meeting after the summer break on Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron warned his citizens of the "end of abundance."

"What we are currently living through is a kind of major tipping point or a great upheaval. We are living the end of what could have seemed an era of abundance [...] the end of the abundance of products of technologies that seemed always available [...] the end of the abundance of land and materials including water," he said, in a somber speech that's been criticized for failing to address the sacrifice already made by the poor and unemployed.

Linking the energy crisis in Europe to Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, last week Macron said that French people "must pay the price for our liberty and values."

Similarly, on Wednesday, the same day that the U.K. was bracing itself for another energy price cap raise set to increase the average energy bills by 80 percent, outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his citizens they would have to "endure" soaring energy bills to counter Russia's "inevitable manipulation of energy prices."

"While people are paying energy bills, people in Ukraine are paying with blood," the prime minister said, one day after he visited Kyiv as the country marked six months since the beginning of the war.

Politicians in other European countries don't have the same resolve: Italy's Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right populist League party which is expected to win the country's September election within a right-wing coalition, called for the EU to rethink its sanctions on Russia.

Also on Wednesday, Germany announced plans to save energy this winter by dimming street lights in its cities and towns and keeping public buildings cooler than they'd normally be during the winter.

From September 1, public buildings in Germany, with the exception of hospitals, will be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius (66.2 degrees Fahrenheit), while heating could be turned off entirely in corridors and foyers.

The government hopes the move will reduce gas usage by 2 percent and save households, companies and the public sector $10.7 billion over the next two years.

Governments in Europe are stepping up to help their citizens pay their energy bills, offering one-time payments and tax rebates. But the impact of the energy crisis and the standoff with Russia is expected to impact Europe for much longer than just one winter: in August, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo warned that Europe could face up to 10 difficult winters.

"We are monitoring the situation closely, but we have to be clear: the next few months will be difficult, the next few winters will be difficult. We have to get out of there. Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. And if the situation ultimately turns out to be better than expected, it would still have been beneficial to have been prepared," he said during a speech in Bruges.