The German economy is highly exposed to the risk of a shutoff of Russian natural gas. Gas makes up just over a quarter of Germany’s energy use, almost all of which is imported. As of end-April 2022, about 35 percent of Germany’s natural gas imports (33 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year) came from Russia, compared with 12 percent of crude oil, and 8 percent of coal, according to the economy ministry.1 Moreover, unlike oil and coal that are transported by ship, Russian gas imports are difficult to substitute because Germany lacks pipelines linking it to alternative gas wells or facilities to regasify LNG from ships and distribute it to the existing distribution system. Instead, LNG has to be imported through LNG terminals in neighboring countries like Belgium and the Netherlands. The dependence of gas markets on local pipelines means that prices vary around the world, ranging in 2022Q2 from US$ 16.7 per MWh in Louisiana, USA to US$110 per MWh in the Netherlands.