Germany's Energy Security Challenge
Securing the availability of energy resources – oil and gas – in accordance with environmental sustainability is a key challenge of the 21st century.
Second Line of Defense, a site focuses on the creation and sustainment of military and security capability, has published an article, Crafting Energy Security in the 21st Century: A German View of the Challenge
History shows that conflicts over resources are not new and it would be completely unrealistic to expect that shortages of energy or deterioration of energy security would not lead to conflicts of various intensities.
Energy affects the prosperity, social peace and security of states. But more than that, it is a facilitator of the movement of goods; ideas; services; capital; information and people in all spaces – land; sea; air; space and cyber. High-tech economies, such as the United States, Germany or Japan, demand a highly reliable energy system to meet their needs. Only a secure energy supply guarantees the robustness of the nation’s economy and along with that its national prosperity and security.
In order to secure energy supply governments have to deal with risks and potential threats. They have to take precautionary measures to be prepared for uncertainties. What are these risks and potential threats to from the standpoint of German interests and security requirements?
Germany is, in terms of oil and gas, an energy dependent country as it is importing 80 percent of its energy resources. Almost 50 percent of oil and gas are coming from the Commonwealth of Independent States, primarily Russia.
While some top political leaders in Germany appear to believe in Germany’s special relationship with Russia to secure its energy supply, a 50 percent dependency on Russia – despite all special relations – is no energy security at all.
What happens if Russia turns its energy supply to Germany off or more likely follows its own interests in determining the most desirable energy partners?
Read HERE for the full article