How Will the Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Affect The European Energy Sector?
Many European countries including Germany are trying hard to phase out coal and nuclear power plants due to their negative impact on the planet. However, this has increased their dependence on Russian gas.
With the latest military escalation by Russian troops towards Ukraine, the West and the US, in particular, have approved several sanctions against Russia.
Under such circumstances, the supply of gas to the European countries will also be badly affected. The industries of such countries will face adverse consequences such as rising prices for gas (which are soaring already).
The recent development will also illustrate how even the most modern countries are still dependent upon fossil fuels and why finding an alternate source is really important.
Renewable sources of energy like wind and solar power are adequately available in European countries. Therefore, in the future, such countries will try to remove their dependence upon Russia or any other country for that matter.
This is vital for such advanced countries because no matter how militarily or technically advanced they become, if their industry is still reliant on the fossil fuels of opponents, all this development is of no use.
What Is The Reason Behind The War?
This brings us to the next question about why has this situation occurred in the first place?
Well, in simple words, Russia considers modern-day Ukraine as a part of the Russian motherland.
So, with the roots of this gigantic state located in Ukraine, Russia is extremely interested in proving that Russia and Ukraine are no different.
In addition to this, Russia wants to prove that Ukrainian troops have, from time to time, killed several Russian nationals in the Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Furthermore, Russia has one major demand of Ukraine: Ukraine must not join NATO under any circumstances, as this would allow NATO troops access to Russian borders.
This alliance will also make Russia vulnerable to attack, which Russian President Vladimir Putin will not tolerate under any circumstances.
Thus, by using its might and power, Russia is now suppressing Ukraine which is not just a smaller country but is militarily much weaker than Russia.
Why Is Germany Truly Worried?
The development work for Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 was previously under progress at a rapid pace.
The reason for this was that Germany is a growing economy that wants to bring down the manufacturing cost of its items by using a cheaper fossil fuel i.e. natural gas.
Russia is a huge country and with enormous gas resources, it was the best option for Germany to make use of this fossil fuel which was exactly what the Nord Stream 2 was aimed at providing.
Sanctions On Russia Mean That Trade Will Be Affected Or Completely Terminated
Now the Western countries including many European states want to impose strict sanctions on Russia and this will mean that trade with Russia will have to be terminated.
In this case, Germany’s gas project will not just be delayed but can be abandoned completely which means that Germany won’t be able to offer its industrial products to the world.
The recent military escalation will thus force the leaders of Germany as well as other developed countries to invest as much as possible in renewable energy sources.
Final Verdict
The Russia-Ukraine war is a tragedy which will have many implications for various sectors. On the other hand, this situation is a blessing in disguise as more countries will now be willing to switch over to renewable energy sources which will contribute significantly to this field.
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