by Vijay Jayaraj
Many people read history to understand colonialism – what it looked and felt like. For those in the Third World, however, colonialism was a living experience, the energy-restricting policies politely forced upon them by Western political leaders.
This form of modern enslavement – under the so-called green agenda of the West – is known variously as climate colonialism, carbon imperialism, and other monikers. Whatever the nomenclature, the reality is that blocking access to fossil fuel energy sources is in the name of saving the planet from a climate emergency.
The impact of this imposed energy crisis on developing countries is deadly and rapid. Climate-conscious politicians deciding what in their thermostatic offices in Europe and North America has disastrous consequences for the world’s poor, who live – and die – Without reliable electricity, running water, washing machines, refrigerators, ovens and hospitals are connected to the grid.
The supposedly cherished social goals in the West – from improving one’s livelihood to empowering women – are sacrificed by colonial anti-fossil activism.
John Kerry, the US President’s special envoy on climate change, asked African leaders limit the role of natural gas to become a short-term alternative to coal and oil. Kerry expressed reservations about long-term gas projects because he believes the fuel’s CO2 emissions matter.
The authoritarian drumbeat of the likes of Kerry has prompted the Indian prime minister to call for the “colonial mindset” of Western leaders, who continue to block access to affordable and reliable energy. trust in sovereign states.
The issue was also brought up in a recently concluded political conference where Russia, China, India and others expressed deep concern about the Western imposition of restrictive energy policies. West.
The most astonishing aspect of these persistent calls to reduce Third World fossil fuel consumption is that they come from those with the highest CO2 emissions. For example, the Kerry family owns a private jet and multiple villas, with emissions higher than thousands of villages in Africa and Asia.
According to the data obtained by media in July, the Kerry jet, a Gulfstream GIV-SP, “has made a total of 48 voyages spanning more than 60 hours and emitting an estimated 715,886 pounds, or 325 tons, of carbon since the President’s inauguration. Biden was sworn in.” Report indicate that the jet “generates 30 times more carbon by 2021 than a normal car.”
So, on what moral grounds do politicians like Kerry ask the poor to reduce their emissions? What authority do they have to deny liberating energy for the 620 million Africans still without electricity?
This unparalleled level of hypocrisy was demonstrated during the recent energy crisis in Europe. European preachers turned to coal and oil as Russia’s gas supplies were disrupted. National leaders who once discouraged poor countries from using fossil fuels have moved to join fossil fuel-producing and exporting countries to European shores.
Wealthy Western economies reverted to fossil fuels because neither wind nor solar could meet the energy needs of modern society. Only fossil fuels, hydroelectricity and nuclear. However, wealthy climate elitistists somehow feel that the third world needs to get rid of the coal and oil that have helped Western economies grow over the past few centuries.
According to the International Monetary FundUnited Kingdom, whose economy accounts for about 3.2% global gross domestic product (GDP) lifted the mining ban to ensure long-term hydrocarbon production. Meanwhile, Africa, with a GDP share of about 2.9%, is being forced to abandon gas projects and accept poverty.
Vijaya Ramachandran, Director of Energy and Development at the Breakthrough Institute, speak, “Africans must not be targets of climate colonialism. Compliance with the Paris Agreement is becoming the rule that bans important energy projects in very poor countries. “
Like Syd Lucas put it“We cannot let the climate colonists tear the carpet from these developing countries as they grow and develop their energy industries.”
Climate colonialism threatens to usher in a prolonged period of poverty, wiping out decades of economic progress in just a few years.
This commentary was first published at Western MagazineSeptember 30, 2022 and can be accessed here.
Vijay Jayaraj is a Research Associate at CO2 Alliance, Arlington, Virginia. He holds a master‘degree in environmental science from the University of East Anglia, UK, and resides in India.
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