What if Germany boycotts Russian energy?

What if Germany boycotts Russian energy?

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine, the German government has been under mounting pressure to join a proposed European embargo on Russian energy. It is widely believed that stopping Russia’s war will require cutting off its financing, which is coming in the form of billions of dollars of payments for oil and gas exports. The German government opposes an energy embargo, with Minister of the Economy Robert Habeck arguing that it would lead to mass unemployment, poverty, and widespread social unrest. But are these concerns valid? Germany is certainly heavily dependent on Russian energy. It sources 55% of its gas, 34% of its oil, and 26% of its coal from Russia. But finding substitutes for Russian oil and coal would not be particularly difficult. In fact, Germany has already agreed to join a European embargo on Russian coal, and it has announced plans to diversify away from Russian oil by the end of this year (though that may be too late to make a difference for Ukraine). Unlike pipeline-delivered natural gas, oil and coal have global markets and can be purchased from pretty much anywhere. Moreover, Germany has strategic reserves of both. Gas poses a greater