Dependence on Russia would have been avoidable

Floating LNG special ship “Hoegh Esperanza” in Wilhelmshaven

Building an LNG terminal for Germany would have been possible much earlier.

(Photo: Reuters)

In view of Germany’s first LNG terminal, top German politicians are apparently in the mood to celebrate: At the inauguration on Saturday, no phrase was mentioned as often as the term “new Germany speed”. In view of the short time it took for the terminal to be built, Chancellor Scholz spoke of a “world record”.

The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, called the terminal a “great political achievement that one can be proud of.” After all, within just a few months, Germany was able to import liquefied natural gas – so-called LNG – directly.

The terminal is an important building block in Germany’s efforts to fill the gap caused by the lack of Russian gas supplies. And in view of the large projects that have been delayed for years, such as Berlin Airport BER, it is indeed remarkable that things went so quickly in this case.

But that’s not just a reason to celebrate. Above all, it is a reason for reflection. For example, whether the state shouldn’t have intervened much earlier to prevent such a fatal dependence on Russian natural gas as it has recently.

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Building an LNG terminal for Germany would have been possible much earlier. But nobody in Germany was interested in importing expensive LNG as long as there was cheap gas from Russia.

Olaf Scholz at the microphone

The Federal Chancellor at the opening of Germany’s first LNG terminal.

(Photo: AP)

The state could have intervened in several ways. He could have subsidized LNG or at least reduced the import tax on LNG in order not to be too dependent on an unjust state like Russia.

Even better: The billions that are now being sunk in gas replacement purchases should have flowed into the energy transition years ago – into wind turbines and photovoltaics, and into technologies that make German industry less dependent on fossil energy sources.

Dependence on a single state is unacceptable again

Of course, one is always smarter in hindsight. However, it is important not to repeat the mistakes of the past. In the foreseeable future, Germany will not be able to avoid importing raw materials from problematic countries – LNG and hydrogen from Qatar or Algeria, lithium from China.

At the same time, the federal government will have to be measured by the term “Germany speed” in the future. However, this should primarily apply to the energy transition, not to the procurement of fossil raw materials.

After all, dependency on a single country, which endangers the entire German economy in the way that was the case with gas, is unacceptable again. Relying only on the cheapest and most easily available product may be attractive with a view to a rapid energy transition. However, this is not the way to achieve sustainable energy security.

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