(This debate post was first published on Everythingwith which ABC Nyheter has a collaboration).
Germany is dependent on predictable and close energy cooperation with Norway, in line with the times we live in. We hope Norway will help us on our journey to phase out fossil energy and become climate neutral by 2045.
Altinget.no is Norway’s first purely political online newspaper. With 28 niche media in Denmark and 11 in Sweden, the Altinget is already an established media house in the Nordic region. The aim is to increase understanding of national and European politics through niche journalism of high quality – with a neutral starting point.
On 11 April this year, I had the pleasure of meeting members of the Storting’s Energy and Environment Committee when they visited the German national assembly, the Bundestag, in Berlin. Subsequently, this meeting has been referred to in the Norwegian public several times, among other things at NRK’s political quarter on 28 August and i Everything on 29.8 where it is claimed that I, as the Greens’ energy and climate policy coordinator, asked Norway to invest in more exploration and production of gas. This is wrong. My question was about whether Norway had the opportunity to increase current gas deliveries to Germany – in the short term and from fields that were already in production – so that we can replace gas from other sources, before the gas is phased out completely. Under no circumstances did I express that we, from the German side, want Norway to continue looking for new oil and gas deposits on the Norwegian continental shelf.
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Under no circumstances did I express that we, from the German side, want Norway to continue looking for new oil and gas deposits on the Norwegian continental shelf.
When Putin launched a large-scale, illegal invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, we were completely dependent on Norway’s swift efforts. We in the Bundestag are very grateful that Norway was able to increase the supply of gas to Europe so quickly, something that was also clearly supported by the Norwegian Green Party. From 2021 to 2023, exports of Norwegian gas to Germany have increased by 20 per cent, and today account for more than half of all German gas consumption. This is how Norway contributes to securing German industry and jobs in an uncertain time.
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In Germany, the green transition is underway and the energy system is changing rapidly. It is important to distinguish between short-term energy needs and needs in 5, 10 and 20 years. The German National Assembly has decided that Germany will become climate neutral by 2045. This means that we must drastically reduce all fossil energy, both for electricity, heating and industry. As early as 2030, we expect that the demand for gas will fall by 50 per cent, compared to the level in 2019. The estimate is based on our national strategy, Energy transitionon increasing the production of renewable energy for electricity production. In particular, the amendment to the Building Energy Act from 2023 will help to reduce Germany’s gas consumption through the phasing out of fossil heat production.
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Germany is well on track to become climate neutral in 2045. From January 2044, the import of fossil gas to our LNG ports will be prohibited. Norway and other fossil exporters must take this as a clear signal that fossil piped gas will be the next to receive a phase-out date. Opening up more exploration and new production of gas in Norway does not fit into this reality.
The phasing out of German nuclear power was adopted with cross-party agreement in the German Bundestag after the Fukushima accident in 2011. This is something that we in the Greens have fought for since we were established in 1979. The shutdown of German nuclear power has gone according to plan, except for a few months postponement of three power plants. Today, all nuclear power plants in Germany are shut down.
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The objective of the current government to phase out coal also stands. Yes, we had to temporarily open two coal-fired power plants in the wake of the energy crisis in 2022, but in April this year we shut down fifteen coal-fired power plants. Today, we are ahead of schedule to reach the goal of shutting down all coal-based energy production by 2038, which is a prerequisite for Germany to become climate neutral by 2045.
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We live in a troubled time with war, conflicts, climate and energy crisis. As I mentioned in the meeting with Norwegian elected representatives in Berlin, it is important for Germany to continue the energy cooperation we have had with Norway for a long time, by quickly replacing fossil energy with renewable energy. Only in this way can we ensure energy security in the future and that together we will achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.
(Voices is ABC Nyheter’s debate section. Here regular and occasional contributors write about current news topics. We also have a collaboration with the political online newspaper Altinget.no . If you are burning with an opinion or analysis, you can send the text to [email protected], and we will consider it).
