The controversial natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 has become a symbol of Germany’s energy policy failures, after Russia weaponised its gas deliveries to Europe in order to stifle European action to support Ukraine. Construction of the pipeline was completed in 2021, but the war – and an act of sabotage which damaged one of the two lines – mean chances of it going into operation are very low, even as efforts to bring peace to Ukraine and the new US administration’s more amicable stance on Russia has revived the debate on the future of the pipeline. Germany and other European Union members decided to wean themselves off Russian fossil fuel supplies. Yet, the pipeline under the Baltic Sea has already been the subject of heated debate since its inception.
War and sabotage make Nord Stream 2 operation very unlikely
The Germans visibly laughed when they were warned of such a dependence on Russia in 2018. For some reason, they didn’t find such a poor decision to be of concern.
As a comparison, France has invested heavily in nuclear and the Nordic countries heavily on renewables.