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Speculation that he would do so has already increased international gas prices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Critics accuse the Russian government of using gas as a political weapon.<\/p>\n
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline is 1,200 kilometers long and stretches under the Baltic Sea, from the Russian coast near St. Petersburg to northeastern Germany.<\/p>\n
It was opened in 2011 and can send a maximum of 170 million cubic meters of gas per day from Russia to Germany.<\/p>\n
The pipeline is owned and operated by the company Nord Stream AG, whose main shareholder is the Russian state company, Gazprom.<\/p>\n
Germany imports 55% of its gas from Russia and most of it is provided through Nord Stream 1, with the rest through land-based pipelines.<\/p>\n
Germany has also agreed to build a parallel pipeline \u2013 Nord Stream 2 \u2013 but it has never become operational, due to Russia’s occupation of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
In May, Gazprom shut down the Yamal gas pipeline, which runs through Belarus and Poland and sends gas to Germany and other European countries.<\/p>\n
Then, in mid-June, Gazprom reduced gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 by 75% \u2013 from 170 million cubic meters of gas per day to approximately 40 million cubic meters.<\/p>\n
In early July, the company shut down North Stream 1 for ten days for what it said was maintenance.<\/p>\n
Now, very soon after the reopening of the pipeline, Gazprom has halved the amount it sends to 20 million cubic meters.<\/p>\n
A day earlier, when Russia warned that it would limit supplies, wholesale gas prices in Europe rose by 10%.<\/p>\n
Gas prices are now 450% higher than they were last year at this time.<\/p>\n
“The market is so tight at the moment that any interruption in supply causes a bigger increase in the price of gas”<\/em>says Carole Nakhle, chief analyst at the Crystal Energy company, for the BBC.<\/p>\n “This could cause a slowdown in European economies and accelerate the path to recession.”<\/em> she adds.<\/p>\n Gazprom has said it is reducing supplies because it has to shut down one of its turbines for maintenance, but few in Europe believe this.<\/p>\n The German government has said there is no technical reason for Gazprom to limit supplies.<\/p>\n The head of the EU’s energy policy, Kadri Simson, has said that Russia’s actions are “politically motivated”.<\/p>\n The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has described them as “an open gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe”.<\/p>\n “Russia is increasingly weaponizing gas,” Kate Dourian, a fellow at the London-based Energy Institute, told the BBC.<\/p>\n \u201cShe’s trying to show that she’s still an energy superpower and that she can get revenge [kund\u00ebr] the sanctions imposed by Europe<\/em>“, she adds.<\/p>\n Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Germany has tried to secure alternative gas supplies from Norway and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n It is also buying five floating terminals to import liquefied natural gas from Qatar and the US, Dourian says.<\/p>\n “You cannot become dependent on Russian gas, as Germany has, and quickly change your sources of supply”<\/em>says Nakhle.<\/p>\n Italy and Spain are trying to import more gas from Algeria.<\/p>\n Germany is also increasing its use of coal and will extend the life of power plants it has planned to close – despite their impact on climate change.<\/p>\n “Everyone is taking their own steps to solve the power shortage issue and making their own arrangements”<\/em>says Dourian.<\/p>\n The EU has worked out an agreement, according to which the member countries will reduce the use by 15%.<\/p>\n Many European citizens are taking steps themselves.<\/p>\n “In Germany”,<\/em> says Nakhle, \u201cPeople are buying wood stoves and installing solar panels. Everyone is taking steps to reduce gas use<\/em>“.\/ Radio Free Europe<\/p>\n \n<\/p>\n top channelHow has Europe reacted to dwindling supplies?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What can Europe do?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How is Europe reducing the need for gas?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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