• German Federal Foreign Office says the question now is how the ambitions in statements and commitments can be put into action.
• Countries must free themselves from the grip of Russian imports so that they are longer susceptible to blackmail.
Image: BETD
Amidst the war against Ukraine, the international community has shown it is capable of moving decisively on energy transition, Germany has said.
In a statement ahead of the opening of the eighth Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue on Tuesday, March 29, Germany's Federal Foreign Office said the question now is how the ambitions in statements and commitments can be put into action.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russia’s invasion has not only brought suffering to the people in Ukraine but also made clear the problematic dependence of many states on fossil energy imports.
“The global energy transition and combating the climate crisis are now hard geopolitics. The international community is watching Germany’s path even more closely and the interest in international cooperation is even greater.
"The task is now to make ourselves independent from Russian energy imports as quickly as possible – and at the same time to press ahead with the phase-out of fossil fuels,” Baerbock said.
She added that the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, which brings together 50 countries, is a unique forum to exchange ideas, strengthen partnerships and develop strategies on how states can move forward with the global energy transition.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “in clear breach of international law”, has brought the question of energy security to the forefront of international discussions.
“Now more than ever, we have to promote the global energy transition and resolutely drive forward both the goal of a global expansion of renewables and that of greater energy efficiency,” Habeck said.
In addition, he said, countries must free themselves from the grip of Russian imports so that they are longer susceptible to blackmail.
“We in the German government are sparing no effort to achieve this. The key to energy sovereignty, however, lies in the expansion of renewable energies. This question is of utmost relevance to national, European and international security,” he said.
Simone Peter, president of the German Renewable Energy Federation, said the invasion demonstrates the high price of dependence on fossil fuels and the risks of nuclear energy.
Peter said renewable energies hold the potential at the regional and global levels for achieving an independent, crisis-proof, environmentally friendly and inexpensive supply of energy.
“Renewables are energies of peace and can take over the energy supply reliably and in a way that is unaffected by international tensions,” he said.
According to the World Bank, Germany imports about 60 per cent of its total energy, and half of its gas and hard coal imports come from Russia. It also supplies a third of Germany's oil imports.
International Energy Agency says Russia is one of the world’s top three crude producers, vying for the top spot with Saudi Arabia and the US.
"Russia relies heavily on revenues from oil and natural gas, which in 2021 made up 45% of Russia’s federal budget. Russia is the world’s second-largest producer of natural gas, behind the United States, and has the world’s largest gas reserves.
"Russia is the world’s largest gas exporter. In 2021 the country produced 762 bcm of natural gas, and exported approximately 210 bcm via pipeline," the IEA website says.
In February, Germany suspended the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, which was to double the flow of Russian gas direct from Russia to Germany, after Moscow recognised Donetsk and Luhansk, the breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
On March 25, President Joe Biden and European Commission counterpart Ursula von der Leyen announced a joint task force to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and strengthen European energy security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the White House, the Task Force for Energy Security will work to ensure energy security for Ukraine and the EU, while supporting the EU’s goal to end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
The task force will organise its efforts around diversifying liquefied natural gas and supplies in alignment with climate objectives and reducing demand for natural gas.
This year’s BETD forum under the theme “From Ambition to Action” brings together ministers and high-level delegations from more than 50 countries to discuss with representatives from the business community, academia and civil society.
Top on the agenda are strategies for the intelligent transformation of energy systems around the world and solutions for reaching greater independence from fossil fuels.
The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue has since 2015 been hosted by the Federal Government and co-organized by the German Renewable Energy Federation, the German Solar Association, the German Energy Agency and consultancy firm eclareon.
Germany says the global energy transition will promote trade and a greater degree of interconnection between countries.