Die unsichtbaren Netzwerke, die die Weltwirtschaft antreiben – Die 5 schwachen Glieder

Kabel, Pipelines, Straßen, Meerengen, Flugrouten und Satelliten bilden das fragile Netzwerk, auf dem die Weltwirtschaft aufbaut. Dabei handelt es sich um unsichtbare Netzwerke von enormer Bedeutung für die globale Lieferkette und das moderne Leben, an die man sich jedoch erst erinnert, wenn ein Krieg wie in der Ukraine oder in Israel einen dieser strategischen Punkte bedroht. Studie der Deutschen Bank beleuchtet die fünf Schwachstellen der Weltwirtschaft. Das heißt, die Infrastrukturen, die nicht durch Alternativen ersetzt werden können und daher die globale Lieferkette blockieren können.

There are some vulnerabilities in the global economy that are more or less known to everyone, such as Taiwan's semiconductor factories, global financial centers and the 0.5% of subway stations in London and Paris that could block the half network.

But there are also the invisible but very important networks, as was shown by the damage done to an undersea gas pipeline and telecommunications cable between Finland and Estonia on October 10, reminiscent of the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline a year ago. In 2010, the eruption of a volcano in Iceland "grounded" one second of Europe's air traffic for 8 days, notes Deutsche Bank.

Sowohl die Ukraine als auch Israel liegen in der Nähe solch wichtiger Punkte für die Weltwirtschaft.

1. Kabel und Leiter

– Datenkabel: Up to 99% of the world's digital communications as well as 10 trillion financial transactions. dollars, pass through fiber optic cables located on the sea floor. There are approximately 550 active and planned cables, spanning 1.4 million kilometres. Many are barely thicker than a watering can, explains Deutsche Bank. These cables are vulnerable to espionage and sabotage and to accidental damage.

– Unterwasserstromkabel: Stromverbindungsleitungen ermöglichen es Ländern, bei günstigerem Wetter billigere Wind- oder Solarenergie von ihren Nachbarn zu kaufen, was die Versorgungssicherheit erhöht und die Nachfrage besser steuert. Sie können jedoch durch Sabotage oder Unfall zerstört werden.

– Erdgasleitungen: Europa ist für den Großteil seiner Erdgaslieferungen auf Pipelines angewiesen. Im Jahr 2020 importierte das Unternehmen fast 401 TP3T seines Erdgases aus Russland und ist seitdem auf Pipelines aus Norwegen und importiertes LNG angewiesen. Wie die Nord Stream-Explosionen gezeigt haben, sind diese Pipelines anfällig für Sabotage.

– Ölpipelines: Most of the world's oil pipelines are located in Europe and Asia and start from Russia. A typical oil pipeline is about 50 centimeters in diameter and can carry over 1 million liters (or 6.300 barrels per hour). By comparison, a barrel can carry less than 200 barrels at a time. Pipelines are made of steel and, where possible, are buried in the ground. Like natural gas pipelines, they are vulnerable to damage, earthquakes and sabotage.

2. Straßen, Eisenbahnen und Flüsse

Some railways and roads in far-flung places carry a disproportionately large share of supplies critical to the global economy, with no alternatives. A vast area in the Congo and Zambia, for example, is Africa's largest producer of copper and accounts for two-thirds of the world's cobalt production. But there are only four roads, all bad and congested, to transport these raw materials from the mines to ports in Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania. Something similar is happening with Brazil's soy, which is the world's No. 1 exporter. In the last two years, drought has hit rivers that are vital waterways, showing how vulnerable these transports are.

3. Meerengen

Along with the Cape of Good Hope, there are 8 important "straits" for sea transport. As Deutsche Bank explains, these are the five "keys that unlocked the world" for the British Empire, if the Straits of Dover are removed and the Panama Canal, the Turkish Straits, the Straits of Bab el Madeb and the Straits of Hormuz are added . In oil, for example, more than 60% of supply is transported by sea, with the Straits of Hormuz being the most important point for the market, since a fifth of the world's consumption (and a third of LNG) passes through it. At its narrowest point, the Straits of Hormuz are only 33 kilometers wide.

Diese Meerengen sind anfällig für Blockaden, Schiffskollisionen oder -berührungen, Piraten, Terroranschläge, Kriege und Unfälle wie Ölverschmutzungen.

4. Landebahnen

Air transport depends on an invisible network of corridors that can be disrupted by weather, wars or unusual events, such as when Spain's airspace was closed last November to allow a Chinese missile to enter Earth's atmosphere. Strikes by air traffic controllers have caused major transport problems in Europe this year, while the biggest post-war air traffic blockade occurred in 2010, when the volcano in Iceland erupted.

5. Satelliten

The world is very dependent on the US Global Positioning System (GPS). This uses approximately 30 Earth-orbiting Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) satellites, which send signals to over 4 billion users worldwide. But these signals are weak and prone to interference, and it has been estimated that if GPS is "cut", the cost will exceed $1 billion a day, just for the US.

(QUELLE: https://www.moneyreview.gr/business-and-finance/125480/deutsche-bank-ta-aorata-diktya-poy-kinoyn-tin-pagkosmia-oikonomia-oi-5-adynamoi-krikoi/)