Economist Marcel Fratzscher has urged Germany to implement car-free Sundays reminiscent of the 1970s in response to the escalating energy crisis caused by the Iran war. "We need car-free Sundays and a speed limit – even now, not just when the situation escalates further," Fratzscher told the news portal t-online in a report published Sunday. "That sounds very controversial. But what many don't understand: We currently have ten to fifteen percent less oil and gas worldwide."
Therefore, only correspondingly less can be used, continued the president of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). "It's a question of distribution: Who restricts themselves more, who less?" Fratzscher said. "This is precisely the perversity of the fuel discount."
Fratzscher sharply criticized the approved reduction in mineral oil tax. "Through the fuel discount, Germans are not reducing their driving sufficiently, even though that would be urgently necessary," the economist said. Consumption must be reduced where it is "not absolutely essential."
"Then I come back to a speed limit," Fratzscher continued. "For many Germans, that's a red flag. But these are not trivial sums of fuel that we can save." However, the fuel discount does "the complete opposite." As a result, others must save more. "In other areas, such as food, prices will rise more sharply due to the fuel discount."
At the same time, the economist warned of further rising fuel prices. While prices could fall below two euros again if the war ends and supply routes reopen, there could just as easily be further bottlenecks. At the latest with next winter, the pressure returns. "A diesel price heading toward three euros can become realistic," Fratzscher said. "Even if hardly anyone can imagine that today."
Fratzscher takes warnings of a kerosene shortage "very seriously," according to his own words. While one should "not panic," the economist said, "a lot can happen in the coming weeks and months," the DIW chief added.
"We cannot rule out shortages." In an emergency, airlines have "no alternative" but to cancel certain flights. "It would also be possible for the state to cancel all domestic German flights."
The Iran war began on February 28 with airstrikes by the United States and Israel. Iran responded with attacks on Israel, several Gulf states, and US facilities in the region. While a ceasefire currently exists between the United States and Iran, it remains uncertain whether new negotiations between the two countries to end the conflict will materialize.
The Iranian military has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which normally around one-fifth of global oil transport flows. As a result, oil and gas prices have skyrocketed worldwide.
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