In his Dec. 17 op-ed “Germans, Take a Stand Against Nord Stream 2,” the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Richard A. Grenell, hopes Berlin “pursues other supply options that would drive a competitive natural-gas market, rather than help Mr. Putin dominate the market.” He also asks that Berlin “holds Russia accountable for its actions” against Ukraine. But given Germany’s energy-policy decisions in recent years, these moves are unlikely to happen.

During the five years I spent in Germany, I saw the consequences of the phase-out of...