(CNN) — There are few energy projects in the world as controversial as the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2and this Tuesday he practically died when the leader of Germany stopped its approval process in response to the Ukraine crisis.
The 1,230-kilometre pipeline was to transport huge amounts of natural gas directly from Russia to Europe via Germany, and although it has been built for more than five months, not a single delivery has passed.
The project has divided politicians, analysts and Europeans for years, and has been beset by delays, previous US sanctions and the opposition for its impact on the climate crisis.
The announcement by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been the strongest concrete response from the West to Russia’s military action in eastern Ukraine.
But it puts Europe in an awkward position: Russia could simply turn off its other gas taps that feed most of the continent, leaving millions in the dark and cold. Natural gas is the fuel used to run water heaters, furnaces, and stoves.
Germany already receives Russian gas through Nord Stream 1, a similar pipeline that also runs under the Baltic Sea. But when Russia stepped up its military action in Ukraine overnight, the pressure on Germany to stop the pit project increased.
Regardless of whether Germany officially scraps the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the long run, Russia’s actions in Ukraine make the project politically dead.
Fears that Russia used Nord Stream 2 as a geopolitical weapon to further its interests, and its expansionism, in Europe are being justified. But loading the gun with real gas will further weaken Europe’s position.
The project already had political problems.
Germany’s new coalition government has a strong Greens presence, who oppose increased reliance on natural gas, a fossil fuel that now contributes more to greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union than coal. The region has become so dependent on a fuel that was supposed to transition to renewable energy.
Nord Stream 2 iba a añadir 100 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, not to mention the inevitable leaks of methane, a greenhouse gas with a planet-warming power of more than 80 times that of CO2 in the short term.
Now Europe, and Germany in particular, has an opportunity to seize this moment to move away not only from Nord Stream 2, but from its growing reliance on fossil gas.
Germany is one of the few developed nations that opposes nuclear power and is in the process of shutting down its few reactors. Without it, it has become a highly gas-dependent country, and will need a radical rethink to accelerate power generation from renewable sources.
Taking into account the environmental problems associated with the treatment of radioactive waste from nuclear power, its role in the future energy mix of the whole of Europe has its limitations. A rapid rise in renewable energy (solar, wind and hydroelectric) offers both energy security and climate protection. A simple first step would be to shift subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables.
In the short term, Europe can get gas from other countries, surely not enough to replace Russia, but enough to muddle through, and deal with the immediate Russian threat.
But the eternal problem of the climate crisis will continue to rage and will ultimately be more deadly and costly than military confrontation.