Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck sees progress in efforts to reduce Germany’s dependence on Russian oil, coal and gas.
“Every day, in fact every hour, we say goodbye to Russian imports,” said the Green politician of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. “If we succeed, we will be independent of Russian coal by autumn and almost independent of oil from Russia by the end of the year. With gas, it’s more complicated because we don’t have our own LNG import capacities. We can now do it under high pressure.”
Habeck announced that he would soon travel to countries that produce LNG and hydrogen, from Norway to Qatar. “It’s about expanding our import options, in the short term with LNG, in the medium term it has to be hydrogen.”
The federal government had announced that it would participate in a planned terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Brunsbüttel via the KfW development bank. Another terminal could be built in Wilhelmshaven, while Lower Saxony also wants to build in Stade.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the share of Russian imports in fossil gas imports to Germany is around 55 percent, coal around 50 percent and crude oil imports around 35 percent.
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Habeck also reiterated his opposition to an EU embargo on Russian energy supplies: “I understand everyone who is demanding an immediate embargo because of Putin’s brutal war of aggression,” he said.
“But I am responsible for the entire country. I have to consider what the consequences of our decisions are. It’s not about sacrificing a bit of individual comfort, but about deep cuts, economically and socially: With an immediate import ban, we’re talking about supply bottlenecks next winter, about economic slumps and high inflation, about hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs, and about people for that the way to work is hardly affordable, heating and electricity as well.”
The minister continued: “The sanctions must be such that we can hold out. If in doubt, not just three days.”
According to Habeck, the sanctions that have been decided so far are having an effect, hitting Russia hard. He hopes that the sanctions could eventually lead to an end to the war: “The question is how long it will last. But the Russian economic system is faltering. These are the most effective economic sanctions imposed to date.”