"From weaponising energy bad enough to weaponising everything, this is the lesson I hope everyone has learned. Europe faces a looming energy crisis after the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, prompting retaliatory strikes that shut the strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows."
"Robert Habeck, the Green politician responsible for keeping the lights on during the last energy crisis, said the belief gas would never be a political weapon led successive German governments blindly into Putin's trap by building the Nord Stream pipelines and selling strategic reserves to Gazprom, which Russia emptied before the invasion."
"Habeck, who raced to build LNG terminals and secure alternative gas supplies when Russia invaded Ukraine, said he faced sleepless nights during the last energy crisis over the prospect of telling industries to close factories if he failed to get them gas in time."
Germany's former economy minister Robert Habeck warns that weaponization of energy by Russia during the Ukraine invasion has expanded into weaponizing tariffs, technology, and other economic tools under Trump's administration. Germany's reliance on Russian gas through Nord Stream pipelines left the country vulnerable to Putin's strategic manipulation. The recent US and Israel attacks on Iran created additional energy security threats, with 20% of global oil and LNG flowing through the potentially compromised Strait of Hormuz. Habeck defended his emergency measures during the energy crisis, including rapid LNG terminal construction and alternative gas supply procurement. He rejected criticism that transitioning away from fossil fuels risked stranding assets, emphasizing the existential threat of complete energy supply loss during the crisis.
#energy-security #geopolitical-weaponization #germany-energy-crisis #strategic-dependence #lng-infrastructure
Read at www.theguardian.com
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