Germany approves gas deal with Qatar: a veil to conceal energy crisis
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Germany's 15-year LNG deal with Qatar comes under criticism as it only covers 3% of Germany's needs.
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Germany approves gas deal with Qatar after criticizing the latter for human rights abuses (Wikimedia)
On November 29, Qatar has agreed to supply Germany with two million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for at least 15 years, as Germany attempts to replace all energy imports by mid-2024 as part of a Russia isolation policy. This deal, however, has been criticized as it only replaces 3% of the total need for LNG in Germany.
#QatarEnergy signs a 15-year long-term contract with #ConocoPhillips to supply #Germany with LNG.#QNA #Economy pic.twitter.com/q3wjJ2PS2U
— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) November 29, 2022
In the publicly-announced agreement between Qatar and Germany, the latter will receive two million tonnes of LNG at Brunsbüttel, which will be delivered, according to Qatar's Energy Minister Saad Sharida al-Kaabi, by American energy firm ConocoPhilipps.
A veil that will not conceal an imminent energy crisis
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the 15-year term of the deal was "great".
But the head of energy analytics, Andreas Schroeder, considered that the starting date of 2026 was late, as Germany needed LNG for 2023 and 2024.
"If German players do not secure sufficient volumes at an OK price for 2023, they will have to revert to spot LNG markets, and expose themselves to global price volatility," he pointed out.
On that note, German MP Kaus Ernst commented on the Qatar-Germany LNG agreement saying that the deal does not offer real alternatives to Russian gas.
Die Bundesregierung feiert sich für ihren LNG-Deal mit Katar und prahlt mit großen Zahlen. In Wahrheit entsprechen diese zwei Millionen Tonnen LNG drei Prozent des deutschen Gasverbrauchs. Echte Alternativen zu russischem Gas gibt's immer noch nicht!https://t.co/5d3yYzclQi
— Klaus Ernst (@ernst_klaus) November 29, 2022
He also argued that the sanctions against Russia are what ruined Germany and caused its energy crisis alongside the rest of Europe's.
BT diskutiert die Energiepreisbremse. Ampel rühmt sich die Energieversorgung gesichert zu haben. Hat sie nicht, sonst würden nicht überall die Heizungen runtergedreht und wir hätten keine Preisexplosionen. Ursache sind die Sanktionen der Ampel gegen Russland. Ampel ruiniert uns!
— Klaus Ernst (@ernst_klaus) December 1, 2022
LNG deal concealed a crisis that unveiled hypocrisy
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, competition for LNG has become intense, with Europe needing huge amounts to help replace Russian pipeline gas that previously made up almost 40% of the continent's imports.
In February, Theo Zwanziger, the chairman of the German football association, was been a prominent challenger of the decision to host the 2022 world cup in Qatar. Zwanziger made a public attack on Qatar's human rights record and questioned the decision to hold the event in the scorching heat of the desert.
On November 23rd, the German national team spoke out against FIFA and Qatar at the World Cup. In protest of being prohibited from wearing armbands that read "One Love" and featured a rainbow heart, players posed and covered their mouths before the team's match. This was intended to symbolize support for the marginalized community which the team claims to criticize Qatar over while also ignoring the culture and values of the Qatari people.
Incredible: German National Team cover their mouths in Protest, to make it clear to the World they were silenced by FIFA who prevented them from wearing OneLove Armband at World Cup. Footballers using their platform for the Force of Good 🇩🇪🙌 pic.twitter.com/c4S5OO080Q
— roger bennett (@rogbennett) November 23, 2022
However, when it comes to energy, where money matters, Germany has no problem signing a 15-year deal with Qatar, thus revealing the double standards in terms of the importance of what the country, alongside its collective-West allies, preach to be "human rights causes."
For countries like Germany, human rights matter only when they have the privilege to allow it to, and not because of its fundamental value. Furthermore, this highlights how Western values are non-negotiably imposed upon countries that have different worldviews, without a second thought regarding the consequences of denying another country its right to differ.
Read more: China signs longest LNG contract recorded in the Industry with Qatar
