Germany: faced with the energy crisis, Berlin turns off the light of the monuments
The banks of the Spree river in front of the reconstructed Berlin Palace (Berliner Schloss) which houses the Humboldt Forum with the Berlin Cathedral in the background in Berlin on July 15, 2021. © STEFANIE LOOS / AFP
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2 mins
The war in Ukraine, which has lasted for more than five months, has plunged the world into a new energy crisis.
In Europe, Germany is particularly vulnerable.
To help Berlin, the countries of the European Union pledged this week to reduce their gas consumption by 15% by next March.
But the Germans remain worried, and the country is also taking action at the local level.
In Berlin, the facades of historical monuments will no longer be illuminated at night.
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The facade of the Berliner Dom, Berlin Cathedral, for example, will no longer be illuminated at night.
Same thing for the town hall of the capital, the castle of Charlottenbourg or the Column of Victory.
In all, 200 emblematic monuments are concerned, for 200,000 kilowatts / hour of electricity saved, assure the authorities of the capital.
A mostly symbolic measure, especially since it will require human intervention, building by building, to apply it.
In the short term, there will be no financial savings, but in the context of the war in Ukraine, "
it is important that we use our energy as carefully as possible
", underlines an elected ecologist from the municipality of Berlin.
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Other major cities have announced energy saving plans and the government is encouraging companies and individuals to lower their energy consumption.
Because Germany still buys more than a third of its gas from Russia, and it is therefore at the mercy of the gas cuts decided by Moscow.
This Wednesday, July 27, the Nord Stream gas pipeline was operating at only 20% of its capacity to Europe, which prevents European countries from storing as much gas as they would like before the arrival of winter.
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