Tagesspiegel: “ride bikes and draw curtains” – Germans are taught to save energy to spite Putin

Tagesspiegel: “ride bikes and draw curtains” – Germans are taught to save energy to spite Putin

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck announced the launch of an energy saving campaign, according to the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. The minister urged the citizens to do their part by foregoing Russian energy sources: leave their cars at home more often and ride bicycles, close the curtains in the evening to keep the heat inside, turn down the heating by one degree and work remotely a couple of days a week. “This will save my wallet and piss off Putin,” Habeck explained.

Against the backdrop of hostilities in Ukraine, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck urges citizens to save electricity, writes the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

“I ask everyone to contribute to saving energy already now,” the politician said in an interview with German media. – As a key formula, I would say this: you can always save ten percent.” At the same time, Habeck announced the launch of a corresponding campaign on the part of the government.

“We can only become less dependent on Russian imports if we see this as a big joint project in which we all participate,” the German vice chancellor stressed. Habeck also called for employers to respond. Wherever possible, they should “offer remote work to save energy,” the economy minister insisted. He recalled that this is exactly what Germany did during the pandemic. “Wherever possible, you could work from home again one or two days a week – as long as everything is voluntary,” Habeck noted.

According to Der Tagesspiegel, the minister’s main tips for saving energy are as follows: employers should offer employees one or two days a week to work from home; citizens should ride the train or bicycle more often and leave the car at home; curtains should be drawn in the evening – this can save up to 5 percent energy. In addition, if the heating temperature is reduced by one degree, another 6% can be saved.

In addition, Habeck suggested that on Easter people should use trains or bicycles – “this will save the wallet and piss off Putin. When asked about car-free Sundays, he replied: “You can already leave your car at home as often as possible – and not only on Sundays. Every kilometer travelled without a car is a contribution to an easier rejection of Russian energy supplies. In addition, we protect the climate.

He warned of the possibility of a situation in which there would be a supply shortage and there would be a shutdown of industrial plants. This would be a “nightmare of economic policy,” the German minister is convinced. “In fact, nothing can be done right then – only less wrong. In such a situation, we would not be talking about ‘freezing for freedom,’ or about a warmer sweater for three days. Then we would be talking about large-scale collapses in German economic cycles,” Robert Habeck explained. Therefore, according to him, everything possible is being done now to avoid such a development, writes the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

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