Has Vladimir Putin killed “Net Zero”?
European nations were warned years ago by Donald Trump that they had set themselves on a course for disaster with their energy policies. Germany was easily the worst offender: its foolishly virtue-signalling “Energiewende”, coupled with Angela Merkel’s knee-jerk decision to close down its nuclear sector, has left it utterly dependent on Russian gas — not just to keep its lights on, but to produce fertilizers for modern agriculture. As Trump pointed out, that made Europe largely powerless in the event of Russian aggression.
The EU elite naturally sneered and mocked. Then, Putin invaded Ukraine.
Suddenly, “Net Zero” Europe is re-discovering the necessity of fossil fuels.
Germany is pushing for Group of Seven nations to walk back a commitment that would halt the financing of overseas fossil fuel projects by the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter. That would be a major reversal on tackling climate change as Russia’s war in Ukraine upends access to energy supplies.
A draft text shared with Bloomberg would see the G-7 “acknowledge that publicly supported investment in the gas sector is necessary as a temporary response to the current energy crisis.”
Of course, the draft includes a mealy-mouthed caveat about keeping it “consistent with our climate objectives”, but the hard reality is clear. Europe needs fossil fuels. Badly.
Still, there are still some useless green idiots flapping their arms and foaming at the mouth.
The UK opposes the proposal, two of the people said. A German government spokesman declined to comment.
A person familiar with the discussions said Italy wasn’t actively opposing the German proposal. Italy, like Germany, is highly dependent on Russian gas. On Friday, speaking during a press conference in Brussels, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Italy has managed to reduce Russian gas imports from 40% last year to 25% at the moment. This has been possible also by signing new gas deals in countries including Congo, Algeria and Angola.
A government spokesperson said Italy did not support Germany’s idea.
The hypocrisy is plain to see: Italy has already had to sign new gas deals. But it “does not support” Germany signing new gas deals. “I’m alright, bugger you, Jannes.”
But the sight of Putin’s noose is rapidly focusing what passes for the minds of the EU elite.
The debate comes as Europe in particular struggles for alternative sources of fuel to Russian gas. The German government has warned that Russia’s moves to limit supply risk a Lehman-like collapse in the energy markets, with Europe’s largest economy facing the unprecedented prospect of businesses and consumers running out of power.
Germany has responded to the cuts by reviving coal plants and providing financing to secure gas supplies, while continuing with plans to phase out nuclear energy.
Bloomberg
These people are idiots. They almost deserve everything they get.
