Germany has made itself dependent on energy from Russia for too long.
After President Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine, Russian deliveries of oil, coal and gas to Europe are now, quite rightly, to end as soon as possible.
The federal government is therefore calling on everyone to save energy.
This makes sense if it reduces unnecessary resource consumption.
But saving energy alone will not break the dependency on Russia.
In order to quickly replace Russian deliveries, other countries would have to step into the breach – but this is not yet foreseeable.
The lesson from this must not be the desire for energy self-sufficiency.
On the contrary: the aim must be to base Germany's future energy supply on suppliers and energy sources from many countries.
The long-term orientation must not be neglected by the appeals to lower the room temperature.
The best incentive to save energy is anyway the higher prices.
They ensure that some purchases are more profitable than before and that energy is used less carelessly than before.