No Reason To Celebrate

236

December 22, 2022

Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 18 December 2022
by Jan Emendörfer (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Mallory Matsumoto. Edited by Lisa Attanasio.

Liquid natural gas from the U.S. is not only more expensive than gas from a pipeline, but it is also extracted and transported under dubious environmental conditions.

With the first German shipping terminal for liquid natural gas in Wilhelmshaven, Germany is making itself a little more independent from Russian gas and expanding its sources. That’s a good thing. But there is no reason to celebrate. LNG from the U.S. is not only more expensive than pipeline gas, but it is also extracted and transported under dubious environmental conditions (keyword: fracking). Transporting LNG with crude oil-burning tankers is itself an environmental sin that can only be tolerated given the brutal Russian war of invasion against Ukraine.

Environmental groups are criticizing the speed of fossil fuel infrastructure projects and wish that this speed would instead be applied to abandoning coal. Another criticism is that the special ship for LNG, “Höegh Esperanza,” is expelling wastewater that has been treated with biocides.

We must keep in mind that Wihelmshaven is just a small step that quickly needs to be followed by others. Germany was obtaining more than 50% of its natural gas from Russia. One new terminal alone cannot offset those losses.

Kein Grund für Euphorie

Wenn das Flüssiggas aus den USA kommt, ist es nicht nur teurer als Pipelinegas, sondern es wird auch unter fragwürdigen Umweltbedingungen gewonnen und transportiert. Der Kommentar.
Mit dem ersten deutschen Terminal für Flüssigerdgas (LNG) in Wilhelmshaven macht sich Deutschland ein kleines Stück unabhängiger von russischem Gas und erweitert seine Bezugsquellen. Gut so. Doch es gibt keinen Anlass für Euphorie. Wenn das Flüssiggas aus den USA kommt, ist es nicht nur teurer als Pipelinegas, sondern es wird auch unter fragwürdigen Umweltbedingungen – Stichwort Fracking – gewonnen. Der Transport des Gases mit Schweröl verbrennenden Tankern ist an sich eine Umweltsünde, die nur unter den Bedingungen des brutalen russischen Angriffskrieges gegen die Ukraine tolerierbar ist.
Umweltverbände kritisieren die Geschwindigkeit“ bei fossilen Infrastrukturprojekten und wünschen sich dieses Tempo für den Ausstieg aus der Kohle. Auch gibt es Kritik, dass von der „Höegh Esperanza“ mit Bioziden behandelte Abwässer eingeleitet werden.
Nüchtern betrachtet, ist Wilhelmshaven ein erster kleiner Schritt, dem rasch weitere folgen müssen. Deutschland bezog über 50 Prozent seines Gases aus Russland. Das ist mit einem neuen Terminal nicht zu kompensieren.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Block title

Cuba: Life in Venezuela Has Not Stopped

November 29, 2025. Published in Juventude Rebelde

[T]hreats from Washington may have strengthened a sense of unity and sovereignty among citizens who want peace.

Palestine: Peace: Rest in Peace

November 28, 2025. Published in alquds

“The Palestinians like me. The Palestinians are doing very well actually.”

Egypt: The Meeting of Titans

November 24, 2025. Published in almasryalyoum

President Trump likes winners and the strong, even if they are his opponents.

India: A Tenuous Truce: Can the Updated US-Ukraine Peace Plan Actually End the War?

November 29, 2025. Published in Firstpost

Moscow’s objective remains a final settlement on its own terms—not a temporary ceasefire or frozen conflict.

Ghana: Will America’s Absence from the G20 Summit in South Africa Affect Key Decisions?

November 25, 2025. Published in GhanaWeb

Topics

Nigeria: The Words of the King of Mar-a-Lago

November 30, 2025. Published in The Sun

The truth is that the Americans are pathologically unreliable and unscrupulously treacherous.

Saudi Arabia: The Deeper Implications of the F-35 Deal

November 30, 2025. Published in Asharq Al-Awsat

Washington now faces choices: proceed with the deal and adjust its conception of alliances in the region or succumb to legislative stagnation and reject or downgrade the deal.