Several decades ago, wealthy regions of the world embarked on a program to replace fossil fuel energy (coal, oil, natural gas) with energy from unrelated “renewables”. (mainly wind and sun). In academia, the press, and fashionable progressive circles, the idea is that this is the way to “save the planet”. This program was made without any detailed technical study of how or whether it could actually work, or how much it might cost to fully implement. In the connoisseurs, there is a blind faith in the complete ability of government, by distributing taxpayer dollars, to arrange whatever innovation may be needed to move us toward our goal of zero. about this energy.
The latest UN-coordinated effort to implement a renewable energy program, known as COP 26, has just broken down. To read the plot emanating from the love affair, all is moving in the right direction, if a little slower than one would hope.
But I have long predicted that this program will end when (absence of some miraculous innovation that no one has yet conceived) the use of renewable energy reaches a level sufficient for the cost and operability of they cannot be compensated any further. Until recently, the pressure of elite groups was able to maintain a united front in the service of the cause. But let’s take a look at some developments over the past few weeks, right since COP 26 ended:
Japan
Japan tends to bow in international affairs and at COP 26 signed the statement of the happy talk group without raising any specific issues. But there is no doubt that Japan has the third largest economy in the world – after the US and China, and larger than any European country – so its actions in energy policy are not without question. meaningful amount of capital. In addition, Japan has relatively little energy output, is heavily dependent on imports, has harsh winters, and the growing economic and military threat of China on its doorstep. Does Japan really trust its fate in intermittent wind and solar power?
On December 1, Bloomberg reported: “Japan is backing oil and gas even after the COP26 climate negotiations.” It looks like this rather important country may be seriously rethinking its move away from fossil fuels. Excerpt:
Government officials have been quietly urging traders, refiners and utilities to slow their moves away from fossil fuels, and even encourage new investments in oil projects. gas, according to people in the Japanese government and industry, who asked to remain anonymous the conversation was private.
What is driving Japan to break out of the world group position? According to the Bloomberg report, the main motivation is to secure an energy supply – something that wind and solar obviously cannot provide:
Officials are concerned about the long-term supply of traditional fuels as the world doubles down on renewables, the people said. The import-dependent country wants to avoid potential fuel shortages this winter, as well as future cold spells, after last year’s deficit raised concerns about power outages across the country. nationwide. . . . Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry declined to comment directly on whether the country would encourage industries to increase investment in upstream energy supplies, pointing instead to a plan. Strategic Energy was approved by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet on October 22. That plan states that “no compromises can be accepted to ensure energy security, and it is the duty of a country to continue to secure needed resources.”
(Emphasis added.). Well, if “no compromises are acceptable” for “energy security,” that rules out a major reliance on wind and solar power to power Japan’s economy. , at least until some magical new invention was born.
USA
In the US, Republicans are slowly coming to terms with the idea that restrictions on fossil fuels in the name of “climate” are becoming a political responsibility for Democrats. To date, there have been some politicians willing to speak out against such restrictions, but few by taking concrete steps to protest. Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to roll out initiatives at the SEC, Treasury Department, and Federal Reserve to pressure banks and other financial institutions to reduce their involvement. into the fossil fuel industries.
So here’s the big deal: On November 22, a union of state treasurers sent a letter to major financial institutions threatening to end relationships, including sending state money and pension funds, with institutions slashing financing for coal, oil and natural. gas industries. National Review reported in a November 22 article titled “Fifteen countries react to ‘Capitalism’, Threatening to cut off coal-denying banks, oil industries.” Excerpt:
A coalition of finance officials from 15 states sent a letter to the US banking industry on Monday warning that it plans to take “collective action” against banks that adopt these policies. corporate policy to cut financing for the coal, oil, and natural gas industries. . . . The letter states that financial institutions have “adopted policies aimed at reducing a substantial portion of our states’ revenues,” saying the banks had a “major conflict of interest with respect to their holdings, maintain or manage such funds.”
According to NR documents, state treasurers signing the letter included people from West Virginia, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, Alabama, Texas and Kentucky. Recipients of the letter include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Between the states’ own accounts and their retirement funds, the amount in question would run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, if not nearly a trillion.
Meanwhile, in Europe. . .
Another Bloomberg article, this one from November 28, describes a sense of impending doom across Europe with a combination of low natural gas supplies, price spikes, and absolutely no capable of drawing more production from growing and essentially useless wind and solar generators. The title is “Europe’s energy crisis is about to get worse as winter approaches.” Excerpt:
The situation became so dire at the beginning of winter due to the skyrocketing price of natural gas. Stockpiles of fuel, used to heat homes and generate electricity, are lower than usual and are being rapidly depleted. Analysts have warned that gas stores could drop to zero this winter if cold weather spurs demand. Jeremy Weir, chief executive officer of Trafigura Group, a Swiss commodity trading company, warned on Nov.
And then there’s this comment:
“If the weather turns cold in Europe, there won’t be an easy supply solution, but a demand solution,” said Adam Lewis, partner at business house Hartree Partners LP.
I think an “on-demand solution” means some combination of blackouts or intentionally cutting people off and, I guess, having them freeze. The “solution provided” that Lewis mentioned would allow fractures in the vast shale formations of Western Europe. Such jailbreaking is currently prohibited. Even if those bans are lifted today, it will be too late for this winter.
Predicting the day when Europeans will wake up to their absurd energy frenzy is like predicting the date of the collapse of regimes in North Korea or Venezuela.
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