Die Wochendämmerung - Der stabile Wochenrückblick

Die Milliardenlobby hinter Öl und Gas: Wohin steuert die Regierung Merz? mit Annika Joeres

·55 min·5 clips

Annika Joeres explains why Germany is completely vulnerable, relying on oil from the UAE and gas from Trump's America.

The episode of Die Wochendämmerung features an interview with journalist Annika Joeres, co-author of a book on the fossil fuel lobby. Hosts Holger Klein and Katrin Rönicke guide the discussion. Joeres begins by framing Germany's vulnerability, with 98% of oil imported from countries like the UAE and the US. She argues that while a world market exists, price spikes and supply disruptions pose real risks. The conversation then focuses on why Germany lags in renewable energy adoption beyond electricity. Joeres identifies 'brakers and thought manipulators' as key obstacles, including political parties like the CDU and FDP, media campaigns (notably by Bild Zeitung), and industry-funded professors. A detailed case study examines the lobbying against the building energy law (Heizungsgesetz), where a campaign created public fear, leading to continued gas heater installations. Joeres shares a personal anecdote about auto journalism's corrupt test-drive culture. She names influential lobbies: auto, heating, agriculture (via the farmers' association), and the Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft, funded by employer associations. The discussion explores right-wing populists' paradoxical support for fossil fuels despite nationalist rhetoric, linking them to US think tanks funded by oil companies. Joeres critiques the missed opportunity during the gas crisis to reduce dependency and instead pivot to alternatives like heat pumps. She labels hydrogen a 'pseudo-solution' promoted by gas lobbies to maintain infrastructure and profits, noting its particular hype in Germany. The interview concludes with five steps toward independence, including heating transition, phasing out combustion engines, and agricultural reform. Joeres expresses pessimism about the new Merz government's willingness to act, foreseeing change only after an external shock. The episode ends with a fact-check by Nándor Hulverscheidt, verifying and correcting data on oil imports, lobbying examples, and political compositions.

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