BP and TotalEnergies were the only successful bidders in a recent offshore German wind auction after offering billions of euros in ‘top up’ payments to the government. This has raised concerns that oil and gas majors will outbid utilities in forthcoming auctions with end-users ultimately footing the bill.

A new policy proposed in Germany would allow the national export credit agency to continue investing in fossil fuel projects.

The push for gas supplies is leading to rapid construction of U.S. LNG export terminals on the Gulf Coast, threatening the coastal environment and climate targets, according to critics. Germany is playing a big role in the buildout.

Loopholes for ‘hydrogen-ready’ systems means the phase-out of gas heaters in Germany could take longer than many had hoped.

Some policymakers are promising that gas and LNG infrastructure will be used for hydrogen in the future. But “hydrogen-ready” claims are misleading, and risk undermining climate targets.

In what could be a significant push for European green hydrogen, Germany has said it will join France, Spain and Portugal in a major new pipeline project.

Qatar is to supply LNG to Germany under a long-term deal which is already being criticised for doing little to address the current energy crisis while protracting the country’s dependence on gas despite decarbonisation goals.

Germany is in the process of adopting a number of laws that it hopes will help speed up the energy transition and achieve an 80% renewables target in the electricity sector by 2030.