Energiewende and the Zeitenwende
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine upends Germany's reliance on Russian gas and its post-war reluctance to invest in military power.
- Policy statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the German Bundestag, 27 February 2022 — Olaf Scholz, Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (2022)
- Indicator: Share of renewables in gross electricity consumption — Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) (2025)
- Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 — Tony Judt, Penguin (2005)
Three days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, on 27 February 2022, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Bundestag that the world faced a Zeitenwende, a “turning point of an era”. He announced a €100 billion special fund for the armed forces, a commitment to NATO’s defence-spending target, and a plan to end dependence on Russian energy.
- Policy statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the German Bundestag, 27 February 2022 — Olaf Scholz, Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (2022)
Germany had relied on Russia for more than half of its gas imports, delivered partly through the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic, which were sabotaged in September 2022. It built LNG terminals at record speed and found other suppliers.
- Policy statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the German Bundestag, 27 February 2022 — Olaf Scholz, Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (2022)
- Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 — Tony Judt, Penguin (2005)
All this collided with the Energiewende, Germany’s long transition away from fossil fuels and nuclear power. After the Fukushima disaster in 2011 the government decided to close all nuclear plants; the last three shut on 15 April 2023. Renewables supplied about 54% of Germany’s electricity consumption in 2024, up from about 6% in 2000.
- Indicator: Share of renewables in gross electricity consumption — Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) (2025)
The invasion proved that Germany's Russia policy had failed and that a large, rich country must be able to defend itself and its allies; energy independence and renewables are a security issue.
- Policy statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the German Bundestag, 27 February 2022 — Olaf Scholz, Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (2022)
Many Germans, especially in the East and on the pacifist left, distrust rearmament and arms deliveries and fear being drawn into war; others resent high energy prices and the cost of the energy transition.
- Lütten Klein: Leben in der ostdeutschen Transformationsgesellschaft — Steffen Mau, Suhrkamp (2019)
Why it matters today
The war forced Germans to question two settled habits: trade with Russia as a path to peace ("Wandel durch Handel") and a deep scepticism about military strength. Rearmament, energy prices and support for Ukraine are now central political arguments, and the Energiewende, the shift to renewable power, is both a source of pride and a constant quarrel.
Germany moved from refusing to send lethal weapons in early 2022 to becoming one of Ukraine's largest military and financial backers, though Ukrainians often criticised its slow decisions.