Opinion. Germany needs a serious debate about gas reserves. That is precisely why every technical precaution should not become a symbolic battle over “green ideology” or a “fossil rollback”.
The AfD has demanded a strategic gas reserve and tied it to a broader reversal of energy policy: more coal, abolition of carbon pricing and reversal of the coal phase-out. The government is separately developing tools to keep gas available in a crisis. Claiming either that “the government has adopted AfD policy” or that “any reserve is right-wing” confuses the problem with competing solutions.
Preparedness is not an ideology
An energy system has to work during a cold winter, supply disruption or geopolitical shock. Reserves are a legitimate tool. Their existence says nothing by itself about how much coal Germany should burn in 2030.
Conversely, security of supply cannot become a universal excuse for keeping every fossil asset indefinitely. Advocates of more coal must account for costs, emissions and alternatives. Advocates of faster fossil phase-out must explain what firm capacity, grids and storage close the gap.
Scrutinise the AfD instead of reacting automatically
Critical examination of the AfD becomes weaker, not stronger, if every proposal is assumed wrong before examination. The better questions are: which part addresses a real problem, what follows from that problem, and what ideological package has been attached to it?
Germany has spent too many years turning energy technologies into identity markers. The next crisis will not care which political camp claims ownership of a storage site, LNG terminal, wind farm or reserve. It will only test whether the system works.
Quellen
- https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2026/kw42-de-erdgas-1223588
- https://live.euronext.com/en/financial-news/german-minister-plans-market-incentives-boost-gas-storage-source-says
Redaktioneller Hinweis: Updated 16 October 2026. Opinion article; factual claims are sourced.