DThis federal government is spared nothing. What Economics Minister Robert Habeck has now announced does not mean that there is a gas emergency. But it would be negligent not to assume that this will happen. Gas is still a “scarce commodity”, as Habeck said, but the scarce commodity could become an dwindling commodity in just a few weeks.
Russia and Gazprom are probably the last who want to help Germany out of this embarrassment. Operators, politicians and economists have clearly stated what insufficient gas storage means for the winter. Corona is nothing against it.
Germany’s Achilles Heel
Germany is hit on its Achilles heel, a lack of guaranteed security of supply. Given these premonitions, it is understandable that Habeck is also trying to play it safe. The comment that renewable energies were just being expanded too slowly, which contributed to this fatal situation, comes unsurprisingly from a Green politician. That will not protect him from finding completely different reasons.
In the past decade, Germany’s energy policy was based on similar illusions as its Russia policy. The nuclear power debate is symptomatic of this: those who thought the phase-out was too hasty are now pushing for a lifetime extension; anyone who has always been opposed to nuclear power will remain so when it comes to every kilowatt hour. On top of that, the Greens already have enough to bear in the fact that they now have to campaign for the forced burning of hard coal and lignite that are harmful to the climate.
However, autumn and winter will not be defused by digging old ideological rifts again. For the traffic light coalition, this is a challenge that goes beyond the acute state of emergency. Initial precautions such as the LNG terminals have been taken. However, it will be years before Germany’s energy policy gets its feet back on solid ground.
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