Energy Crisis: Europe Told to Prepare for Long, Cold Winter Ahead

Wrap up and keep warm. Consumers across Europe were given a bleak warning Monday the winter ahead will be long, cold, and uncomfortable given challenges to global energy supplies.

They were told to lower their thermostats accordingly and make all necessary “behavior adjustments” as the region faces “unprecedented risks” to global natural gas delivery networks.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its quarterly gas report European Union (E.U.) countries would need to reduce use by at least 13 percent over the winter in case of a complete Russian cutoff amid the war in Ukraine.

Much of that cutback would reportedly have to come from consumer behavior such as turning down thermostats by one degree and adjusting boiler temperatures as well as industrial and utility conservation, the group said.