World market: Habeck warns against energy policy at the expense of poorer countries

Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck has warned against an energy policy at the expense of poorer countries.

The Green politician said on Tuesday at the “Energy Transition Dialogue” conference in Berlin that the necessary renunciation of Russian oil and gas because of the war of aggression against Ukraine could not be easily compensated for on the world markets. Europe is a rich continent, poorer countries could have significantly greater economic difficulties with the consequences, for example with higher prices. “So we have to be careful that we don’t make this change in energy policy at the expense of third parties,” says Habeck.

The mistakes of the past

Not only could the energy supply in poorer countries be severely damaged, but certain products such as fertilizers could no longer be produced in sufficient quantities. That combined with the loss of grain from Ukraine or possibly from Russia could lead to famine in certain countries, said Habeck. But famines are very often the cause of social unrest or political turbulence.

Habeck had repeatedly spoken out against an embargo on Russian energy supplies. He continued at the conference: “We see the mistakes of the past.” In recent years and decades, Germany has made its energy policy very dependent on Russia. But energy policy is never just economic policy. Germany now wants to make itself independent of Russian fossil energies step by step. This is also necessary for security reasons.