Germany will restart its coal-fired power plants and try to reduce domestic natural gas consumption as it faces looming shortages. 

Europe’s economic war with Russia is coming at a steep cost as Germany will have no choice but to restart its coal-fired power plants.

The move comes after Russia added new cuts to Europe’s gas supply last week. 

Europe now faces the prospect of natural gas shortages in the winter, which would have catastrophic consequences.

In order to alleviate the natural gas consumption, Germany announced on Sunday it will bring new legislation to the Bundesrat by July 8 to allow shut-down coal-fired power plants to reopen and operate. 

The German government will also introduce an “auction system” that will “motivate industry to reduce consumption”, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

With Europe facing increasing chances of a recession, Germany’s efforts to cut natural gas consumption for businesses are likely to impede the country’s growth. 

Experts blame the heavy reliance on Russian exports and “green energy“ policies which have made the Western world vulnerable to energy disruptions. 

It was believed that Canada could be a key liquefied natural gas exporter to Europe with the Saguenay LNG terminal, but pressure from activists and left-wing governments eventually killed the project.