How well can Europe survive without Russian gas?

European Union countries have agreed to extend the deadline to reduce by 15 percent the amount of natural gas they use until the spring of 2024. As American Voice correspondent Valentina Vasileva reports, the goal is to continue to reduce their dependence on Russian gas.

The old “Bota is experiencing a cold blow; gas supplies are not enough to spend the winter. ”

Lena Botanina is a Russian national who lives with Austrian husband Dietrich John in Brussels. She shows him music from Russian state television.

It's funny, but again, it's kind of sad. Because people are actively deceived! ”, Dietrich says.

When it became clear that the war in Ukraine would continue last winter, many were concerned about how Western European residents would warm up because of the region's dependence on Russian natural gas.

But according to the EU, they did so in part by reducing the use of gas by nearly 20 percent last winter. Weather also helped.

It was a very warm and gentle winter. We didn't need swears and hats or extra blankets”, says Lena Botanya.

Electricity was more expensive across the EU, but many residents who could not pay their electricity bills received subsidies from authorities.

And according to Brussels Mayor's office, there have been reductions in street lighting and heating in schools and other public and government offices.

We keep our temperature 19 degrees Celsius in school classrooms, but in offices like this, 18 degrees are kept. In the pool, water is held at 27 degrees”, says Benoit Hellings, member of the Municipal Council for Climate in Brussels.

According to independent energy analyst Thierry Deschuytener, Europe did well without the usual amount of Russian gas. EU governments found other gas suppliers. Last winter, the EU took gas from Norway, Algeria and Azerbaijan. Imports of liquid natural gas, LNG from the US, have also been on the rise.

Last “, what happened and what helped Europe a lot was to reduce the demand for liquid gas from China. China's demands would be met by American gas. This American gas was then sent to Europe. So, somehow, China helped Europe”.

But EU officials say lowering gas use is the only way to ensure that EU countries have heat next winter.

We proposed a target for this winter, lowering demand by 15 percent. Member States have gone beyond that. They have managed to lower gas needs by 19 percent”, says independent energy analyst Thierry Deschuytener.

Experts hope that the production of liquid natural gas will increase in the world in the coming years, stabilising energy prices and imports in Europe.

The EU is also supporting alternative energy, with a plan to secure more than 40 per cent of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2030. /voa