If the German state buys and imports fossil fuels such as oil and gas, this has consequences for nature and the climate worldwide. Long before they are consumed locally, oil and gas have a very poor ecological balance when it comes to extraction, transport and processing. German Environmental Aid has now documented exactly what this balance looks like and where German actors are involved and to what extent. According to your report, Germany’s fossil fuel businesses have global consequences. They destroy ecosystems in the countries of origin and exacerbate the climate crisis.
Germany needs a lot of energy for its current standard of living and its economy. To do this, the state buys large quantities of crude oil and natural gas and processes them in refineries, primarily for transport purposes. Cars, but also households and companies then burn these energy sources. In a global comparison, Germany is one of the largest oil and gas importers. The extraction, processing, transport and consumption of these fossil fuels produce emissions of CO2 and methane, which damage the climate. In addition, the environment on land and at sea is polluted by numerous pollutants and noise.
But how big is the influence of the German oil and gas business and how does it affect nature in other parts of the world? The German Environmental Aid (DUH) has now investigated these questions and systematically analyzed the German fossil fuel businesses of the past few years. The organization has summarized the results in an “Atlas of Destruction”. This data collection shows that German oil and gas consumption is destroying ecosystems worldwide and exacerbating the climate crisis.
Extent and origin of German imports
According to the organization, Germany spends around 80 billion euros every year on importing fossil oil and gas. As the atlas shows, this amounted to 82 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 84 million tons of crude oil in 2024 alone, making the country the ninth largest oil importer in the world. Our country no longer gets its oil from Russia, where it mainly came from before the Ukraine war, but recently mainly from Norway, the USA and Kazakhstan, followed by Libya and Great Britain. Germany is also increasingly importing oil by ship from countries such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Guyana.
The natural gas also no longer comes primarily from Russia, but mainly from Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. However, the gas flowing through the pipelines of these neighboring countries often originally comes from somewhere else: the majority of these indirect gas imports come from Norway, the USA, Qatar and Great Britain – as well as from Russia. Part of this is regasified liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has so far only played a small role in direct German gas imports; In 2024 it was around eight percent. This LNG came primarily from the USA. However, Germany has already concluded several large LNG import contracts for the coming years and decades, with partners from the USA as well as with partners from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Norway, Canada and Oman. To this end, the LNG infrastructure has been massively expanded in northern Germany and in the export countries in recent years, which is putting a strain on the environment and, above all, destroying marine habitats.
Consequences of German raw materials trading
German imports of crude oil and natural gas also have further consequences for the countries of origin and their environment. Accidents often occur during oil production there, in which the groundwater and seawater are poisoned with oil, heavy metals and chemicals. When extracting natural gas, unused gas is often incompletely flared (flaring). This releases the greenhouse gas CO2 and some carcinogenic air pollutants. In addition, in many places methane produced during oil and gas production is released directly into the atmosphere. The emissions from oil and gas production damage the climate, can pollute the air and water through their admixtures and harm the health of local people, as the organization reports.
In addition, “German corporations, banks and state actors” participate financially in environmentally harmful extraction and processing plants abroad. “With $20.1 billion in 2024, they will finance over two percent of global fossil infrastructure projects,” says German Environmental Aid. Even if Germany itself does not extract fossil raw materials, but only imports them, it is indirectly responsible for massive climate and environmental damage worldwide, the organization states.
demands on the federal government
In view of its results, German Environmental Aid is making political demands in order to meet the Paris climate goals. In their opinion, the federal government should no longer conclude any new contracts for the long-term purchase of fossil raw materials and no longer pay subsidies on climate-damaging energy sources. Instead, the government should develop a concrete plan for how Germany will no longer have to purchase oil and gas as quickly as possible and can instead switch completely to renewable energies. To achieve this, transport in particular should become more climate-friendly and use fewer fossil fuels, but so should heating systems. That would also have financial and political advantages: “A rapid move away from fossil fuels not only protects the climate and nature, but also makes our society more resilient to price risks and geopolitical crises,” writes German Environmental Aid.
Source: German Environmental Aid