Germany is experiencing harsh hot weather these days with temperatures often exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. Normally, at such times, no one thinks about the next winter. It's still a long way off. But nothing is normal in the summer of 2022.
The game with gas
Meanwhile, the Russian army has continuously attacked southeastern Ukraine, Moscow is also fighting "unfriendly" Western countries with other weapons: Natural gas. Russia reduces gas supplies to Europe, including Austria, Italy, etc. In addition, Russia's gas supplies to Western Europe via the Ukrainian transit pipeline are significantly less.
Germany has also been sanctioned. The country's most important transport route - the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea - has recently been operating at less than half its capacity. Russia said the reason was that a turbine was sent by Germany for maintenance in Canada but had not been returned due to economic sanctions.
Over the past few days, Nord Stream has been completely shut down for annual maintenance as scheduled (from July 11 to 21). Maintenance work is expected to be completed by mid-next week, but Germany is concerned about whether gas will continue to flow from the western end of the pipeline.
Germany's alarming dependence
If gas is not supplied via Nord Stream, the upcoming winter will be difficult for much of Europe. In Germany, gas storage facilities are currently only 65% full. That could lead to major economic volatility, as the continent cannot completely replace Russian gas with other suppliers, especially at current Russian prices. By then, a serious economic downturn could see Western support for Ukraine collapse.
Germany's successful business model in previous decades has been based on importing cheap energy, specifically oil and gas from Russia. Anyone who doubts the system is often overlooked.
In September 2018 at the United Nations General Assembly, then-US President Donald Trump told Germany to look at the mirror. Donald Trump warned Germany would be completely dependent on Russian energy if it did not change direction immediately. In return, he only received laughter and a headscarf from the German delegation, above all from then-Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maass.
Exploiting fracking Petroleum
When the US imposed sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as the project was nearing completion, many Germans suspected that the US was only interested in selling their dirty gas.
Now, the German Economy Minister is demanding that Washington provide as much energy as possible. At the same time, when the idea of gas production in Germany using fracking technology (headbroken hydropower technology) appeared, all that was heard was "no generation, we don't destroy our environment!" despite the fact that the amount of gas that could be produced in this way would be enough to self-sufficient for two years.
The same situation is true for hard rock coal, which is now being imported again. A large part of the coal imports come from Colombia, which is often mined in inhumane conditions. And the discussion about extending the life of Germany's remaining three nuclear power plants is turning into a debate on fake ethics.
With all this happening, the federal government, cities and local communities are diligently making emergency plans for fall and winter. The media is competing to report news with headlines about the upcoming disastrous winter.
German politics have recently played a big role in the chaos the country is facing. Unfortunately, past mistakes cannot be corrected quickly. It will be a cold winter" - Erik Böhme wrote.
