The rich are sending the poor to ‘green’ energy cleaning shops in the lowest-paying countries – Does it work?

By Vijay Jayaraj – March 30, 2022

About 1.3 billion Indians have been told that the price of their cooking gas will increase by 65 cents per liter. In a country like India, higher fuel prices can have rapid and dangerous consequences, leading to higher morbidity and mortality.

The situation is similar in other developing countries and the poor economies of the African continent. Unfortunately, the establishment’s media does not fully cover the level of hostility towards fossil fuels that has contributed to the current energy crisis.

People of the developing world have had their leaders squander precious resources on “green energy” infrastructure served when they could easily use those funds to improve production and import coal, oil and natural gas.

Consider India and Vietnam, two rapidly growing Asian economies that have been wiped out by the “green” distraction that has squandered their domestic energy security in the name of landscapeism. climate province.

Despite accelerating coal production, India remains in an energy mess thanks to billions of dollars in investments in underperforming renewable energy technologies. Between 2014 and 2019, India’s renewable energy sector received 64.4 billion dollars in investments.

The country could instead channel money into affordable and reliable coal-fired power plants that would cost a fraction of what “green” products would. In 2016, India’s renewable energy investment was equivalent to the construction cost of 11 coal power plants. Likewise, several small-scale refineries may have been up and running in the last 10 years, reducing the need to import higher-priced refined fuels.

Many people think that a country like India has been using too much fossil fuel. But this argument is unfounded when the country raises fuel prices for those who can least afford it. Yes 230 million people in India who earn less than $5 per day. For these people, and millions of middle-class households, rising fuel prices mean rising freight and transportation costs and an overall stagnation of economic development.

Another rapidly growing Asian economy is Vietnam, where leaders emerged pledging to increase the share of “green” technologies in the energy market. This overlooked the problems caused by the country’s gradual shift away from fossil fuels.

During the past weeks of volatile oil prices, analysts have suggested that Vietnam has missed an opportunity to strengthen its domestic oil and gas infrastructure. Since February, gas retailers have been faced with serious shortagewith more than 300 petrol retailers across the country stopped selling.

Situations like these could have been mitigated had the country not been indifferent to the issue of energy security. A major reason for high gas prices is reduce production At Nghi Son Refinery, the company did not receive enough government support to avoid financial difficulties and output fell 90% in January. This refinery serves 35-40% of the domestic petroleum market.

Economic expert Dinh Trong Thinh speak“When the plant’s production is unstable or has problems, it will affect the Vietnamese petroleum market because the market share of Nghi Son refinery and petrochemical is very large. The risk of plant shutdown is an important issue for the petroleum industry in particular and the economy in general, requiring the intervention of state management agencies.

However, this urgency is not reflected in government actions to withhold environmental taxes that drive up fuel prices and continue to invest in renewable energy projects that do nothing to improve safety. energy security.

It is time for developing economies to stop experimenting with proven failures like wind and solar and start developing infrastructure that can handle international price fluctuations.

Vijay Jayaraj is a contributing writer for the CO2 Alliance and holds a master’s degree in environmental science from the University of East Anglia, UK. He resides in Bengaluru, India.

This comment is Originally published on March 30, 2022 at the website westernjournal.com.