Expert explains how the energy shortage is affecting life in Europe

In Germany, there is already talk of switching homes that have the capacity for individual heating systems over to firewood," says Alexey Zubets, Director of the Center for Social and Economic Research (Russia). According to him, this trend is not limited to Germany; Greece is also experiencing issues with centralized heating.

"In the northern countries, many are switching to coal. If you look back at the 19th or early 20th century, heating homes with coal was the norm. Now, they are being forced to return to that practice—partly because they have their own coal supplies. Germany, however, lacks oil and gas. Consequently, everyone will have to fend for themselves as best they can, including by utilizing local resources like firewood or coal," the expert added.

As Zubets noted, all of this is a sign of an energy crisis that has hit Europe very hard.