Europe – Stone Age Redux

AF Branco “Put it out”

Europe is facing a major test this winter. It’s going to be cold, very cold according to the Grand Solar Minimum climate forecasters. Not that that deters the climate warriors in the elitist EU who are committed to meet spurious “net zero climate goals” designed to reduce living standards for an entire continent. Fortunately for them and their heartless plans, this may be achieved by Russia. Gas shortages are going to occur as Putin cranks up his pressure on the West by turning the Nord Stream gas spigot on and off at will.

The European Union has committed to reducing its Russian fossil-fuel imports by two-thirds and cutting gas demand by 15 per cent by year’s end. Before the Ukraine war, it had already set a target to become the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050.

The squeeze on oil and gas imports from Russia, after its February invasion of Ukraine, has left countries scrambling to plug the energy gap through a mix of energy efficiency measures, firing up old coal plants and boosting renewable energy projects.

Some economists say the immediate need to keep Europe’s electricity and heating running should trump medium-to-long term goals to adopt more clean energy and curb climate change, especially heading into the colder winter months.

“Nobody wants to see blackouts,” said Simone Tagliapietra, senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economic think-tank, adding that all options must be considered to avoid that scenario, “including polluting ones”.

But climate campaigners want to see governments turn their back on fossil fuels entirely, invest more heavily in efficiency measures and add more renewables to their energy mix. Eco-Business

Interestingly, Germany announced that it has filled its gas stocks in faster time than usual and is confident it can meet winter demands. Even more interesting is the news that to save natural gas, Germany is firing up its old, greatly maligned, coal plants.

Meanwhile in California…