Germany has continued to scramble for alternatives to its Russian gas imports, which it relies heavily on for energy. Now, the government has announced it is considering keeping its coal-fired power plants open longer, as a back-up.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has faced its own energy crisis that goes far beyond prices rising at the petrol pump. The federal republic is heavily reliant on Russian gas imports for energy, as well as Russian coal and mineral oil. In an attempt to relieve the country's dependence on Russian energy, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck visited the Middle East last weekend to secure energy deals from Qatar and the UAE.
In its latest attempt to solve the country’s growing energy crisis, the German government has announced that it could possibly keep “coal-fired power plants as a security standby for longer”. Germany’s ruling “traffic light” coalition had previously hoped to phase out coal usage by 2030, as part of the plan to make the country climate-neutral by 2045. The government has stated that they would like to stick to these goals but noted that the decommissioning coal plants could “be suspended until further notice”.
Habeck has now been forced to look for countries to buy coal from, to bulk up Germany’s reserves.
Germany has so far resisted calls for a complete boycott of Russian energy imports, with Habeck warning that doing so could lead to serious problems such as mass unemployment and supply stops. However, Russia has continued to make life difficult for Germany, with Putin demanding payment for gas in rubles on Wednesday, something that Germany says is in breach of their contracts.