Pretty serious, interesting to note some realistic Germans who realize they can't replace the 40-50% of natural gas from Russia in the next 2 years:
"Just go buy a tesla" perhaps Pete Buttigieg could help them out. More:Quote:
One worst-case scenario involves the world's largest chemical firm BASF, whose main chemical production site in the western city of Ludwigshafen would have to be partially or fully shut down.
President of Germany's IG BCE chemical workers union Michael Vassiliadis, who also sits on BASF's supervisory board, said around 40,000 employees would have to be put on short-time working hours or laid off.
"The consequences would not only be reduced work hours and job losses, but also the rapid collapse of the industrial production chains in Europe with worldwide consequences," Vassiliadis added.
Christian Kullmann, head of the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), also warned that chemical plants are so complex, they "can't just be switched off and on again like a microwave oven."
"Once chemical plants are shut down, they remain silent for weeks and months," he stressed. Kullmann, who is also head of the specialty chemicals company Evonik, said the disruption would have a "huge domino effect through almost all industries."
The chemical sector is a critical part of Germany's export-oriented economy as most industries cannot do without chemical products, including car manufacturers, pharmaceutical producers and construction firms.
Natural gas is also used both as a source of energy and as a raw material by chemical producers. No other sector utilizes more of Germany's gas supply than the chemical sector, at about 15%.
Two years needed to cut reliance on Russia
Despite promises to cut its reliance on Russian gas the share stood at more than 50% before the invasion and has since fallen to roughly 40% Habeck claimed that Germany is unlikely to find enough alternative sources until mid-2024.
Announcing the emergency alert system Wednesday, he said Germany's gas storage facilities are currently filled to about 25% capacity.
"The question of how long the gas will last basically depends on several factors (such as) consumption and weather,'' he said. "If there's a lot of heating, then the storage facilities will be emptied.''
Habeck, who is also vice-chancellor, appealed to private consumers and businesses to cut their energy use, adding: "We are in a situation where every kilowatt-hour saved helps."
And…here…we….go. In all seriousness, Putin needs the money, it sounds like he won't close the pipelines, for now.Quote:
But in the meantime, Brudermuller described that "It's not enough that we all turn down the heating by 2 degrees now" given that "Russia covers 55 percent of German natural gas consumption." He emphasized that if Russian gas disappeared overnight, "many things would collapse here" - given that "we would have high levels of unemployment, and many companies would go bankrupt. This would lead to irreversible damage." He continued:The dire warning of coming disaster in the event Russian gas is shut off came in response being questioned over whether it's at all possible to abandon Russian energy.Quote:
"To put it bluntly: This could bring the German economy into its worst crisis since the end of the Second World War and destroy our prosperity. For many small and medium-sized companies in particular, it could mean the end. We can't risk that!"
Asserting that this issue is not "black and white" - and that the German economy stands on the brink of catastrophe, the BASF CEO said that if this standoff continues to escalate it will "open the eyes of many on both sides"...
Below is the question posed by the newspaper, and Brudermuller's response:Separate sources estimate that at Ludwigshafen alone this scenario would immediately lead to some 40,000 employees being possibly laid off, or at least put on short-time working hours.Quote:
And what if, for example, Putin's demand for payment in rubles leads to an immediate stop in gas supplies?
"A delivery stop for a short time would perhaps open the eyes of many - on both sides. It would make clear the magnitude of the consequences. But if we don't get any more Russian gas for a long time, then we really have a problem here in Germany. At BASF, we would have to scale back or completely shut down production at our largest site in Ludwigshafen if the supply fell significantly and permanently below 50 percent of our maximum natural gas requirement. Minister Habeck has already activated the early warning level of the gas emergency plan."
