Europe's largest economy laid out plans last week that it would be running on entirely renewable energy by 2035.
The accelerated timeline, as reported by Grist, is in large part a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Breaking free of fossil fuels would increase Germany's energy independence and remove the largest pillar propping up Russian economic power in the world.
According to Grist's reporting a draft plan would see Germany double its offshore wind capacity and triple onshore wind and solar power. In all, the new infrastructure would create enough power 80% of the country's electricity needs.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reshaped the energy landscape across the world and is driving Europe to reassess how it gets its power. Other countries like Belgium and France are moving quickly to build out more nuclear capacity as a way to reduce reliance on foreign fossil fuels.
Germany already joined the rest of the European bloc in canceling a natural gas pipeline that was set to start pumping gas from Russia to Germany.
Not every step the Germans are taking are as climate positive. In the near-term the country is going to be relying more on coal and liquefied natural gas coming from the U.S. and other nations to replace Russian supplies.
“We must overcome the high dependence on Russian imports of fossil fuels,”
Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice chancellor and minister for economy and energy, told reporters.