According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany will likely avoid a recession this year. He attributed that to the nation’s accelerated efforts to diversify its energy suppliers once it ceased receiving Russian fuels, as well as a fortuitously mild winter, which did not strain its internal energy infrastructure, or draw on its reserves too heavily.

So far Germany is having an easier time of weathering the winter energy crunch than analysts had feared just a few weeks ago, according to Scholz in an interview with Bloomberg. He added the decisive factor in bolstering Germany’s economy had been the government’s swiftly acquiring alternative suppliers of energy, after seeing Russian supplies cut.

Scholz said, “I’m absolutely convinced that this will not happen – Germany going into a recession.” He added that he foresaw the dispute with the US over climate change subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act would be resolved, and he felt the international community would be able to manage the emergence of China as a political and economic power.

Germany’s energy security was deeply challenged as the conflict in Ukraine led to Western sanctions being placed on the Russian Federation, which Germany had relied on for cheap energy supplies. As the winter closed in, and Berlin needed to fill up its reserves of natural gas to make it through the peak consumption periods in the winter, Berlin needed to act quickly to avoid shortages which would have prevented citizens from heating their homes in the coldest months of the winter.

The entire period served as a warning to the nation, to not become too dependent on a single source of energy, no matter how cheaply it may be offered.

Before heading to the World Economic Forum where he will deliver a special address, Scholz told the agency, “We have to learn our lesson… and a lot of other big problems we are facing. We should differentiate our supply chains, we shouldn’t go for one country alone.”

According to Scholz, Germany is gaining additional flexibility to keep its economy going as new liquified natural gas terminals have been popping up on the Baltic and North Sea coastlines.

He noted, “We are constantly increasing our capacities for importing gas. I’m sure that we will be able to go through the situation again.”