Fueling Freedom: Germany’s Energy Transition and the Russo-Ukrainian War

Abstract

This thesis examines the impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine on Germany’s renewable energy transition, called Energiewende. Over time, Energiewende turned Germany into the blueprint for large economies to build a climate friendly economy without jeopardizing growth. Germany relied on Russian fossil fuels, including liquified natural gas (LNG) and oil, to sustain a steady and affordable supply while creating their renewable energy markets. While dependence on Russian energy is common in Eastern and Central Europe, Germany was heavily criticized for their dependence — opponents cited security risks and support of an unethical regime as reasons for the country to abandon the source. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, German leadership grew immediately concerned with their supply of energy from Russia and began preparing for a severe scarcity of supply. During this period the discourse around Energiewende began to shift. Renewable energy is no longer just a source of clean energy, it has become the symbol of energy independence — even being bestowed the title the ‘freedom energy’. The newfound motivation of energy security led to a rapid acceleration of renewable energy expansion. As argued throughout this thesis, the acceleration took place precisely because of the newfound security motivation, as Energiewende underwent the process of securitization to shift away from Russian energy as quickly as possible. These findings suggest the framework to which nations think about renewable energy may be important for how rapid a clean energy transition occurs. Since many nations hold energy security and independence as a top priority, can renewable energy be their ticket to freedom?