April 2022

Energy prices are rising, not only heating oil, natural gas and petrol are becoming more expensive, but also firewood. Now, firewood thefts are becoming more frequent in state forest enterprises. Several state-managed forest enterprises have registered an increase in wood thefts in recent months. The wood thieves are even taking whole logs out of the […]

Once again, Economics Minister Robert Habeck calls on the citizens of the state to save energy and also sets a target. “As a rule of thumb, I would say: Ten percent savings are always possible,” says Habeck. He even makes concrete suggestions as to where savings should be made. Habeck’s tips are intended to help

After the EU has already imposed an embargo on Russian coal, an embargo on crude oil is imminent. The EU states are not yet in agreement, but there are only a few states left that are not in favour. How much crude oil does Germany need and how much of it comes from production in

The increase in fuel prices reached a new record in German history in March. According to the Federal Statistical Office, consumers had to pay an average of 41.9 percent more for petrol and as much as 62.6 percent more for diesel at the pumps than a year earlier. Fuel prices – price increase higher than

The German Chemical Industry Association has now calculated how much electricity the industry would need to be completely climate-neutral in 2045, as decided by the German government. The entire chemical industry would thus need 685 terawatt hours (TWh) of electrical energy per year. This is how much electricity is needed to convert the entire basic

Russia has stopped gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. This is in response to the fact that both countries refuse to pay for gas supplies in rubles, as Russia has demanded. In this way, Russia is sending a signal to the other European countries that it is serious and will implement its announcements. Germany also

Energy prices are rising and the supply situation is becoming increasingly uncertain. Now North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister President Hendrik Wüst is calling for a postponement of the coal and nuclear phase-out. “Given the current situation, even the German government can hardly come to any other conclusion,” Wüst says. This is how Wüst started the political discussion on

When it comes to climate protection and the associated reduction of CO₂, the discussion repeatedly turns to the use of green hydrogen. The idea is to use it to replace natural gas, to drive cars and to produce steel. Countless companies are working on methods for hydrogen production, its transport and subsequent use. Now, however,

A London court said the extradition of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the U.S. on espionage charges could proceed. The government only has to agree to the extradition. However, Julian Assange can still appeal, delaying the legal process for some time. Assange now has four weeks to give his account in writing to British Home

In order to quickly become independent of Russian energy sources, Economics Minister Robert Habeck wants to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies. To this end, he wants to shorten approval procedures, reduce the number of objections and give expansion priority over nature conservation. To this end, the federal states are to release at least 2

Following the UK’s exit, Denmark is the EU’s largest producer of crude oil from the country’s own oil fields in the North Sea. However, the Danish government decided last year to phase out gas and oil production completely by 2050. The parliamentarians wanted to gradually reduce the production of oil and gas. Now the government

Industry associations see a massive slump in residential construction in Germany by 2023 at the latest. They see this as being caused by both a shortage of materials and a sharp rise in prices. In addition, funds for the new KfW subsidy were completely used up after just a few hours. This means that no

Authorities are sounding the alarm: the war in Ukraine is increasing the risk of a cyberattack on the public power grid. The consequences could be catastrophic. Germany is still too ill-prepared for such a horror scenario, warns the GDV insurance association. The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) shares this view. The

After deciding last week to stop buying coal from Russia, European governments will begin a debate this week on a more ambitious goal. Moving away from Russian oil. European Union lawmakers in Brussels are trying to make an oil embargo the focus of the next economic measures against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. However,

Due to the war in Ukraine, grain exports on the Black Sea have come to a virtual standstill. As a result, grain prices are rising, because the threat of shortages means that traders around the world are buying at virtually any price. According to Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky, Ukraine used to export a good