Economics Minister Robert Habek is visiting Doha and Abu Dhabi as fears of gas shortages grow amid Russia’s war with Ukraine.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said he would discuss liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies during a trip to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as he seeks a hydrogen deal that would make Germany less dependent on Russia for gas.
According to the website of the Ministry of Economy, Russia is the largest supplier of gas to Germany. Approximately half of Germany’s LNG imports come from Russia.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Habek launched a number of initiatives aimed at reducing Germany’s energy dependence on Russia, including large orders for non-Russian LNG, plans to build an LNG import terminal, and slowing the country’s move away from coal.
Habek said ahead of the trip, which began on Saturday, that the goal is “to establish a hydrogen partnership in the medium term.”
“If we don’t get more gas next winter, and if supplies from Russia are cut off, we won’t have enough gas to heat all our homes and keep our entire industry running,” Habeck told Deutschlandfunk radio.
He will be accompanied on the trip by about 20 representatives of corporate Germany, many from the energy sector.
He also wants to discuss “short-term” LNG supplies and “give the companies supplying gas to Germany the political basis to become independent of Russian gas, topics that couldn’t be higher on the political agenda.”
More broadly, the European Commission is also working on plans to phase out the European Union’s dependence on Russian gas, oil and coal within five years.
Habek, who is also the climate minister, recently visited another gas-fired power plant, Norway, as well as the United States, which is now the world’s leading exporter.
Berlin has come under fire for its opposition to an immediate embargo on Russian energy supplies as a means of shutting off Moscow’s main source of foreign income.
But Germany believes that the boycott could hurt the German economy and burden society with huge increases in energy prices, as well as lead to shortages.
While Russia has been heavily criticized for the war in Ukraine, Habek admitted in an interview with ARD TV on Friday that when it comes to energy policy, the moral aspect “doesn’t really exist.”
Habek also said on Friday that a steady flow of supplies needed to be ensured, but stressed that the country must accelerate the transition from conventional natural gas to green hydrogen.