Germany turns to coal as Russia chokes off gas supplies

Germany said the deteriorating gas market situation means Europe’s largest economy should limit the use of natural gas to produce electricity and burn more coal for a “transition period”.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned on Sunday that the situation would be “really tight in the winter” without precautionary measures to prevent supply shortages.

As a result, Germany will seek to compensate for the disruption to Russian gas supplies by increasing the burning of coal – the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel in terms of emissions, and thus the most important substitution target in the shift towards renewable alternatives.

“This is bitter, but in this case it is almost necessary to reduce gas consumption. We must and will do everything in our power to store as much gas as possible in the summer and autumn,” Habeck of the Green Party said in a statement. Translation.

“The gas tanks have to be filled up in the winter, and that’s a top priority,” he added.

This comes shortly after ominous warning From Russia’s state-backed energy giant Gazprom, it has exacerbated fears of a complete disruption of supplies in the European Union.

Gazprom said last week it had more limited supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

Gazprom cited a technical problem in cutting supplies, saying the problem stemmed from delays in returning equipment served by German energy company Siemens in Canada.

Habek rejected this claim, saying that the move was politically motivated and aimed at destabilizing the region and increasing gas prices.

It is not yet known when or whether Nord Stream 1 gas flows will return to normal levels.