Germany sees Russian fossil fuel purge as 'de facto embargo'

Ministers at Berlin summit defend decision not to immediately ban oil and gas imports from Russia

Germany's race to cut out Russian energy comes as it is already trying to eliminate coal and nuclear from its energy mix. AP

The purge of Russian fossil fuels from Germany's energy mix will amount to a “de facto embargo” even if an immediate import ban is rejected because it could cause famine in poorer countries, senior ministers said on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany was seeking a “complete exit” from reliance on Russian energy following the invasion of Ukraine, despite opposing an embargo in talks among the European Union’s 27 members.

Although the EU has promised to cut out Russian energy by 2030 and struck a deal with the US to replace some of its politically toxic imports from Moscow, it has not followed Washington in imposing an immediate ban.

Supporters of such an embargo, such as Poland, say Europe is effectively financing Russia’s month-long onslaught in Ukraine by buying the country’s coal, oil and gas.

But opponents fear it would trigger an economic crisis which Economy Minister Robert Habeck said could take a heavy toll in poorer countries even if wealthy countries in Europe, including its richest country Germany, can withstand it.

Speaking at a Berlin energy forum overshadowed by the crisis in Ukraine, he said the withdrawal of Russian fossil fuels from the world market could hit gas-intensive fertiliser production, exacerbating a potential food crisis caused by the war between two of the world's major wheat producers.

A loss of fertilisers “could lead to famines in certain countries, and famines are very often the cause of social unrest, or even of political turbulence,” said Mr Habeck, the minister responsible for Germany's energy security. “We have to make sure our changes in energy policy do not happen at the expense of third countries.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck addressed the summit in Berlin. EPA

The war in Ukraine comes at a time when energy prices were already high and leaders are reluctant to increase the economic pain, with an EU summit last week ending without a broad consensus on whether to intervene in the market.

The European Commission has signed a deal with the US to buy American gas in liquefied form but this will only cover about a third of the stocks it typically receives from Russia.

Mr Habeck's ministry says Germany is on course to halve its Russian oil purchases by the middle of this year after importers let contracts run out and switch to different suppliers. It plans to be free of Russian gas by 2024.

“You can call it a de facto, step-by-step national embargo, especially of oil,” said Ms Baerbock.

A Ukrainian soldier fires his rifle from a trench at the front east of Kharkiv in the north of Ukraine, which continues to be shelled by Russian forces. AFP

A gas station on fire in Kharkiv after Russian ttack on the northern city. AFP

A medieval suit of armour 'stands guard' at a a Ukrainian checkpoint, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

Ukrainian refugees wait in line to cross the border into Poland at Shehyni. Reuters

Destroyed Russian armoured vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

A resident passes apartment buildings destroyed by Russian attacks in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, standing, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the House of Representatives via video link at Parliament House in Canberra. Mr Zelenskyy appealed directly to Australian legislators for more help in the war against Russia, including armoured vehicles and tougher sanctions. AP

Fire lights up the sky east of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP

A destroyed Russian tank in the village of Lukianivka near Kyiv. AFP

Passengers arriving from Moscow at Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyrzstan. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of former Soviet countries in Central Asia are facing difficult choices: shrinking work opportunities in Russia and wages in the weakened rouble versus a return to the homeland where they have family homes, but even fewer job prospects. AFP

Fire and smoke light up the sky east of Kharkiv as Ukrainian forces push back Russian troops from a motorway outside the country's second-largest city. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier shoots at the Russian positions not far from the capital Kyiv. EPA

A car marked with the English letter 'Z' is found destroyed at the central Ukrainian train station that was used as a Russian base in Trostyanets. Ukrainian forces said they had retaken the north-eastern town from the Russians. Getty Images

Rescue workers at the site of the regional administration building hit by Russian cruise missiles, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A dog looks at cars passing by on the road near a house painted with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

A soldier poses for the picture in Kyiv, Ukraine, while standing guard amid the destruction caused after shelling of a shopping center. AP Photo

A Ukrainian serviceman stands near a destroyed Russian tank in the north-eastern city of Trostianets. AFP

A worker pushes a cart past graves of Ukrainian soldiers who were killed in battle during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv. Reuters

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damaged apartment buildings and homes in Mariupol. AP

A resident takes photos of a destroyed Russian tank next to the railway station where the Russian forces were stationed, in Trostyanets, a town recaptured by the Ukrainian army. EPA

A rescuer clears the rubble of a warehouse containing more than 50,000 tons of deep-frozen food in the town of Brovary, north of Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, after it was destroyed by Russian shelling. AFP

A Ukrainian army vehicle carries a Russian tank in Trostyanets. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin during the funeral ceremony of a comrade in Odesa. EPA

A man walks with his dog near an apartment building damaged by shelling from fighting on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo

Members of the Danish Parliament attend the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky's speech to the Danish Parliament via a video link, at the Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. EPA

A satellite image shows crowds outside a Metro grocery store in Mariupol. Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opens Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul. President Erdogan told the delegations that "both parties have legitimate concerns." AFP

Members of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps fire a howitzer at a position in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters

Ukrainian refugees are helped by volunteers upon their arrival at Amsterdam Central station by train from Berlin. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers ride an armoured people carrier through the town of Trostsyanets, about 400 kilometres east of Kyiv. AP Photo

Firefighters work amid the debris of residential houses that were destroyed by Russian shelling in a settlement outside Kharkiv. Reuters

President Joe Biden said that he is not advocating for regime change in Moscow after saying Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power." AP Photo

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse after it was hit by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. More than half of Kharkiv's 1.4 million people have fled the city since Russia's invasion on February 24. Getty Images

Local residents pass by a destroyed Russian tank in the town of Trostyanets, east of capital Kyiv, Ukraine. The monument to the Second World War is seen in background. AP Photo

A pro-Russian troop service member walks near a destroyed apartment building in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Mykhaylo, 8, who was taken away from his widowed mother along with his 9-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister, plays with a ball in the garden of a state shelter in Lviv. Reuters

Halyna Falko, 52, talks to reporters while looking at the destruction caused after a Russian attack inside her house near Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

Curtains flutter in the wind at a building that was damaged by shelling in a neighbourhood that has been largely abandoned and left without water, gas and heating, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters

People, mainly women and children, arrive at Przemysl on a train from Odesa in war-torn Ukraine in Przemysl, Poland. The Polish government has said it may spend €24 billion this year hosting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, and is seeking more support from the European Union. Getty Images

A woman walks a dog past the so-called "people's installation to a Russian soldier" nicknamed the "polite people" created by residents in the backyard of their apartment building in the town of Podolsk, outside Moscow. AFP

The two ministers, both from the Green party, took office in December and criticised what they described as an ill-advised energy policy pursued by their predecessors that left Germany highly reliant on Russian energy.

They said the need to cut reliance on gas imports underlined the need to expand solar and wind energy, already a priority of the new government as it tries to put Germany on course for net zero carbon emissions by the 2040s. It plans to remove nuclear power from the energy grid this year and eliminate coal power by 2038.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres emphasised the climate element in brief remarks to the summit, saying the world was “far off track” in trying to reduce its net emissions to zero.

“The current crisis shows that we must accelerate, not slow, the renewable energy transition,” he said. “This is the only true path to energy security and I count on you to lead the way.”