The decree, approved by the German government, will enter into force within a week and remain in effect for 6 months.
Austerity plan details
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called on citizens to contribute to the success of the government’s plan to rationalize consumption of energy.
“They do not want to measure temperatures in the bedrooms and individual freedom must be respected, but these measures call on families to take responsibility and contribute to reducing energy consumption,” Habek said.
The German authorities intend to set an example for their citizens, as the maximum temperature of heating devices in public administrations and buildings will be set at 19 degrees as of September 1, according to the decree issued on Wednesday, provided that its temperature is set at 12 degrees when employees perform hard physical effort, while hospitals are exempted. Health centers, some facilities, and other social and service institutions are among these austerity controls.
It will also turn off heaters in public areas such as halls and corridors between offices, and there will be no hot water for washing hands.
winter without gas
Observers warn that such measures are not enough to overcome and mitigate the energy crisis in Germany, which is expected to explode strongly during the upcoming winter with the increasing demand for heating.
Observers pointed out that this crisis may lead to widespread social unrest, in light of the high rates of inflation and the high prices of commodities, foodstuffs, electricity, fuels and energy derivatives.
back to coal
Commenting on what is happening, Maher Al-Hamdani, a researcher and expert in German and European affairs, from the capital, Berlin, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia: “These decisions are the talk of the German street and its main concern. Everyone is talking about them and ways to reduce consumption to save energy and ration it in its various forms of gas. And electricity and coal, so that there is talk in the political center about a return to relying again on nuclear energy for the production of electricity and heating, after Germany had abandoned the use of this type of energy years ago.
Al-Hamdani added, “The government has restarted some electricity generators that run on coal, which has created great embarrassment for the Green Party, a partner in the ruling coalition that opposes it, but Berlin seems forced to resort to this option that is harmful to the environment in light of the chronic energy scarcity on the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war.”
On the depth of the crisis, the expert in German affairs explained: “In addition to the severe logistical problems related to even the transport of coal and its supply chains within the country due to the low water level in German rivers, caused by the severe drought that hits the country and Europe in general, and thus ship loads and shipments are reduced from Coal, which reveals that resorting to coal is also not an option bedded with roses.”
According to Al-Hamdani, what makes matters worse is that “the next winter is expected to be very cold, although the Germans wish the opposite, with what it means for the winter to be warmer, in terms of its contribution to saving energy consumption, but it will also negatively affect the survival of river water levels.” The water bodies are low due to the lack of rain, and consequently the crisis will continue, especially in terms of obstructing the movement of commercial transport, but if the winter is very cold and stormy, the water levels in those rivers will naturally rise, but in return the Germans will suffer greatly due to the severe cold in light of the scarcity of energy and the policy of rationing its consumption.
But how do the Germans view this policy of austerity, Al-Hamdani replied, saying: “The German government’s measures, especially to confront the energy crisis, face very sharp criticism in the ranks of German public opinion, especially among the poor and middle classes, especially regarding the ministers’ calls for citizens to give up some luxuries, while the People say they gave up on it more than two years ago with the onset of the Corona pandemic.”
He added: “Popular criticism is also focused on the general German position on the Russian-Ukrainian war, to the extent that the workers’ union in one of the German states addressed Chancellor Schulz a few days ago, saying: “Are you ready to destroy all Germany’s economic achievements and sacrifice them for the sake of Ukraine?” So the German government is in an unenviable position and winter is approaching.”
small percentage
According to German media, these government measures approved by Berlin on Wednesday will reduce gas consumption rates in Germany by 2%.
The German government had called a few weeks ago for a general national mobilization to provide energy, whose prices have skyrocketed, in light of the decline in supplies from Russia, and the specter of a possible cut during the coming winter is threatening the German government and other European governments.
#Germany #racing #time. #energy #austerity #gasfree #winter #door