Berlin-Germany was Russia’s largest buyer of energy during the first two months of the war in Ukraine, an independent research group said Thursday.
Russia has earned € 63 billion ($ 66.5 billion) from fossil fuel exports since February 24, when Russian troops attacked Ukraine, according to a study released by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Using data on ship movements, real-time tracking of gas flow through pipelines, and estimates based on past monthly trade, researchers found Germany in the first two months of the war to deliver fossil fuels. I thought I paid about 9.1 billion euros to Russia alone.
Claudia Kenfeld, a senior energy expert at the German Institute for Economic Research, who was not involved in the study, said the numbers are plausible given the recent surge in fossil fuel prices. Last year, Germany paid a total of about € 100 billion for oil, coal and gas imports, a quarter of which went to Russia, she said.
The German government said it could not comment on the quote, said it needed figures from companies procuring coal, oil and gas, and refused to provide its own figures.
Germany faces strong criticism of Russia’s reliance on fossil fuels, despite warnings from its allies. Then, last year, Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed the US effort to sanction Russia’s gas pipeline on Germany. This decision is strongly supported by his successor, Olaf Scholz.
The pipeline was only frozen by Scholz’s centre-left government shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, it has been scrambled to find alternative energy supplies, especially for Russian natural gas. It currently accounts for 35 percent of Germany’s total imports.
Kenfeld said the recent commitment by the German government to produce electricity only from renewable sources by 2035 was welcomed.
Finland-based and funded through grants and research contracts, the Energy and Clean Air Research Center is the second largest importer of Russian fossil fuels in Italy (6.9 billion) in the two months since the outbreak of the war. Euro). By China (6.7 billion euros).
Overall, the European Union said it accounts for 71% of Russia’s total revenues from oil, gas and coal, or about € 44 billion.
Frank Jordan
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