Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Russo-Ukrainian war not only had an impact on rising commodity prices, but also threatened to destroy Germany.
Germany said that although it did not like Russia’s attack on Ukraine, its country could not stop imports into the country for long. This is because Germany is dependent on gas imports from Russia.
“Shutting off Russian gas supplies will destroy the German economy,” wrote CNBC International, citing Minister of State Tobias Lindnen, quoted Saturday (23/4/2022).
“If we were to implement the gas embargo completely now, there would be a very, very high chance we would have to suffer the consequences. We will ask for (gas) back next winter. And that would be a win for Putin,” he added.
Lindner, who is also a German economist, added that cutting off Russian gas supplies would have a bad impact on various sectors of the German economy. Therefore, it is only at the stage of reducing supply.
“Our strategy is to reduce gas supply as quickly as possible but in a sustainable way,” he said.
He emphasized that Germany had also invested in gas pipeline infrastructure and liquefied natural gas terminals. Lindner said that Germany is also diversifying its gas supply structure so that Berlin is no longer dependent on one country as we are now with Russia.
“It was a big mistake in our history to be as dependent as we are on gas,” he explained.
Previously, the Federation of German Industry (BDI), the country’s main business lobby group, had rejected a boycott of Russian energy. This, they said, would lead to incalculable consequences.
BDI President Siegfried Russwurm said the boycott would have consequences. Moreover, the continental gas network has not been designed for gas flow from west to east.
It is also related to the wishes of the Netherlands and Belgium. Both of them operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal that could theoretically handle new supplies from the United States (US), Qatar and Norway.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of German utility giant E.ON, Leonhard Birnbaum, told the Tagesthemen TV news program that, without Russian gas, the economy would suffer “huge damage”.
“This should be avoided if possible,” he said in DW.
The chairman of the German Energy and Water Industry Association (BDEW), Kerstin Andreae, said the embargo would create “a huge, almost crushing challenge”. Andreae said this could boost coal-fired power plants (PLTU), which Europe has been trying to shut down because of climate change issues.
Households and commercial users should also cut their energy use. According to BDEW, domestic gas use can be cut by 15%, commercial use by about 10% and industrial use by 8%.
A bad view is also said by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research analyst, Michael Hüfner. He warned in his latest opinion piece that the embargo would mean the “end of raw material production” in Germany.
According to Agora Energiwede, a German think tank, the country depends 55% on gas and 34% on Russian oil. According to data from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), the European Union alone has paid US$ 23.3 billion for each fossil energy imported from Russia.
Right now, due to high energy costs in Germany, inflation hit 5.5% in February. The increase is believed to continue.
(hsy / hsy)
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