Despite the energy crisis, Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) is strictly against the production of natural gas using fracking technology in Germany.

"Fracking will definitely not do us any good for this winter or for the next, for that matter," said the CDU state chief of the German Press Agency in Stuttgart.

First, the legal requirements would have to be created and then test drilling would be necessary.

"I would say it will take years before the first gas comes." The discussion about fracking, which is mainly being conducted by the FDP, is therefore irrelevant.

"This is really a proposal that leads to nirvana," said Strobl.

The CDU politician reproached the liberals for advocating fracking to the detriment of Baden-Württemberg.

"Because the possible gas deposits are mainly in the north-east of Lake Constance.

But the drinking water for four million people comes from Lake Constance.” He is glad that the lake is there to supply people with drinking water.

"Endangering that is definitely out of the question," said Strobl.

“Lake Constance is absolutely taboo.

Hands off Lake Constance.

The FDP proposal is clueless and dangerous.”

Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, experts and above all FDP politicians had recommended using fracking gas to extract gas from the shale rock.

Most recently, Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer had spoken out in favor of it.

"Domestic fracking gas would be a way to reduce dependence on Russia and also on the world market," said the CDU politician.

Nobel laureate calls for pragmatism

Fracking uses pressure and chemicals to extract gas or oil from rock layers, which poses environmental hazards.

There is also criticism that the gas has to be greatly cooled during liquefaction, which, according to environmentalists, costs up to 25 percent of the energy content of the gas.

Economics Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz called on the federal government to take a pragmatic approach to the energy crisis.

Germany must mobilize all reserves to avert supply bottlenecks, he told the newspaper "Die Welt".

Now is not the time for half-hearted measures.

It is not enough to invest billions in energy alternatives.

In the short term, Germany must also shed its reservations about nuclear power and fracking technology.

"The good thing about fracking is that it's a short-term measure that you can set up and stop just as quickly," Stiglitz said.

Nuclear energy is another possibility.

"I'm not a fan of this technology, but if you can let the nuclear power plants run longer or even bring back the plants that have been shut down and still be safe, then it makes perfect sense to do it now."

"You have so much wind here in Germany - just use it"

In addition, the US economist also spoke out in favor of increasing the pace of alternative energies: "Why not just say here: Let's use all the solar panels that we can find, let's turn on all the wind turbines that we have.

You have so much wind here in Germany – just use it.”