Germany has committed to a gas contract with the Islamic country of Qatar; this comes in an evident act of desperation in trying to wean itself off Russian gas.
A Deal with the Devil
Germany’s Economy Minister, Green Party’s Robert Habeck, stated from Doha on Sunday that his nation secured an agreement with Qatar for a “long-term energy relationship.”
Germany intends to transfer LNG from Qatar, and is one of the world’s major LNG producers, aboard boats or through pipes, according to the Green politician.
However, receiving the gas will necessitate the building of terminals at German docks.
While Habeck acknowledged his government has approved the formation of two LNG facilities, they are unlikely to be operational until at least 2026. This is leaving it unclear how much gas Qatar can realistically supply to Germany in the near future.
An Aramco oil facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was attacked about an hour ago by Iran-backed Houthis. pic.twitter.com/JhQuwMb8Kk
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) March 20, 2022
Though Germany has recently taken some delayed efforts to reduce its reliance on Russian gas, such as placing the Nord Stream 2 project on hold — at least for the time being — it so far refuses to implement a US-style gas boycott.
Germany, which imports nearly a third of its fossil fuels from Russia, has been affected hard by the world energy price spike caused by the Ukraine conflict. Gasoline prices are rising to $8.92 per gallon and diesel prices are rising to $9.43 per gallon at the pumps.
Despite this, Europe’s economic hub — which has prohibited fracking on its own soil — has refused to abandon its “green” goal, with plans to phase out all of its nuclear reactors within the next year.
The Qatari liquid natural gas contract has been criticized for exchanging one autocratic dictatorship for another one in order to address the country’s energy needs.
Qatar has long been condemned for its human rights record, even though it now serves on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
These Are Not the Good Guys
Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani rules as a near-absolute royal family in an Islamist nation where “Islam is the dominant religion and Sharia is a primary source of law,” according to the founding document.
Political parties are banned; elections are highly restricted and of minor importance to the nation’s democratic accountability.
Oil surged for a third day amid attacks by Iranian-backed rebels on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia https://t.co/MMi0e0O0jg pic.twitter.com/pY2wb1NZkR
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) March 21, 2022
Despite the fact Qatari citizens are among the world’s richest, the proportion of the public is made up of non-citizens who have zero net voting representation and negligible individual freedoms.
This is according to Freedom House’s 2021 report on the nation, which gave Qatar a rating of 25 out of 100 on its Democracy Index.
After Qatar was granted the ability to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the problem of rights violations against non-citizens garnered global attention.
Over 6,500 migrant workers from South-East Asian countries like Bangladesh, Northeast India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have starved to death in Qatar.
This happened over the past few years while they were working on World Cup stadiums and other arenas in dangerous conditions. These conditions include high heat, but some migrants were said to have been died from “suffocation, due to hanging.”
