It isn't possible for the to stop overnight, but it's not that hard to get the impression they are not even trying.
Thing is, it is the kind of thing that even if preparations are being made, not much will be evident for quite some time. LNG import terminals will take quite some time to construct - at least one major terminal (Wilhelmshaven) has received significant additional investment to try and bring it into service in 2025 rather than 2027 as originally planned. There's another terminal on the Baltic that will (hopefully) be ready by 2026.
Then there's the fact that Nord Stream-2 has been declared effectively dead, where switch-on had been expected later this year. That represents tens of billions of Euros of lost investment.
The environmental NGO Replanet has actually done the maths and made a plan for Europe to get rid of Russian energy.
https://www.switchoffputin.org
They've done their credibility no good by saying (page 6):
With prices soaring on world markets - largely due to Russia’s own actions - the daily value of those imports has jumped, meaning ironically that Europe now sends even more cash to Putin to fund his war effort as a result of Russia’s aggression.
There is zero chance that European companies are paying the spot price for these gas imports. They will have set a contract price for at least three to six months out into the future.
Looking at the details of the plan:
- LNG diversification and pipeline switching: 30 bcm.9
- EU-wide energy saving; roughly 10 bcm per 1C reduction in buildings heat. With thermostats at 18C (reduced from 22C): total 40 bcm
- Fast-track deployment of additional solar PV and wind: 6 bcm.
- Stop nuclear phase-out and restart recently closed reactors in Germany, Sweden and Belgium: 14 bcm.
- Emergency effort to better utilise French reactor fleet: 26 bcm.
- Heat pumps to reduce gas demand in heating, and emergency energy efficiency measures in buildings: 4 bcm.
- Gas to oil in power stations: 6 bcm.
- Gas to coal in power stations: 22 bcm.
- Curtailment to industry: 7 bcm.
Target total: 155 bcm to entirely replace Russian gas - Year 1. 1.
1. As I noted above, Europe doesn't have the terminals needed to import the amount of LNG that's needed, it's going to take time to build them.
2. This one has some legs, though there's a huge assumption about current thermostat settings and the energy efficiency of buildings.
3 - 5: Mostly common-sense
6: This isn't going to be possible in five months. There aren't enough installers, and there's not enough people with the money to make the switch. It's not just as simple as replacing the boiler, in most cases the whole heating system needs upgrading.
7 & 8: Depending on the plant design this could be anywhere between difficult to impossible. And again, it's not something that can be done quickly, to scale.
9: Common sense, though there's always the risk that the damage to industry means that there aren't the tax revenues to pay for everything else