Some Russian soldiers in Ukraine are withdrawing from support for Vladimir Putin’s shameful war, but his hasty withdrawal does not mean the leader is surrendering. In fact, last week he opened up a whole new front in the war: energy.
Putin thinks he has found a Cold War he can win. He will literally try to freeze the European Union this winter [do hemisfério Norte]cutting off Russian oil and gas supplies to pressure the bloc to leave Ukraine.
His predecessors in the Kremlin used freezing winters to defeat Napoleon and Hitler, and it is clear that Putin thinks this is his greatest asset in defeating the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, who told his countrymen: “Russia is doing everything in the 90 days of winter to break through the resistance of Ukraine, the resistance of Europe and the resistance of the world”.
I wish I could say with certainty that Putin is going to fail — that the Americans are going to produce more energy than he is. And I wish I could write that Putin will still regret his tactic, because in time it will end up converting his country from Europe’s energy czar into China’s energy colony — a country to which Putin now sells much of his oil at a discount to make up for it. the loss of western markets.
Yes, I wish I could write all those things. But I can’t — unless the US and its allies stop living in a green fantasy world that says we just flip a switch and go from dirty fossil fuels to clean renewable energy.
This column has been dedicated for 27 years to advocating clean energy and climate change mitigation. I am still in favor—deeply and fully—of these goals. But we cannot achieve them just because we want them to be a reality, unless we have also created the means to do so.
Despite all the investments of the last five years in wind and solar energy, fossil fuels still accounted for 82% of the world’s primary energy consumption in 2021 (needed for things like heating, transport and electricity generation), down by three percentage points on those five years. In the US, in 2021, 61% of electricity was generated from fossil fuels, while 19% came from nuclear power and 20% from renewable sources.
In a world of growing, energy-hungry middle classes, it takes massive amounts of clean energy to make even a small difference in our mix. It’s not a matter of turning a knob. We have a long transition ahead. And we will only do so if we urgently embrace a smart, pragmatic way of thinking about energy policy — which, in turn, leads to greater climate and economic security.
If that doesn’t happen, Putin could still seriously harm Ukraine and the West.
Before the war began, Moscow supplied almost 40% of the natural gas and half of the coal used by Europe. Last week, it announced it was suspending most supplies until Western sanctions are lifted. Putin also promised to suspend all shipments if the West implements the plan to limit how much it will pay for Russian oil.
The Financial Times reported that without enough affordable alternatives to natural gas, some factories in Europe will have to close, “because they can’t afford the cost of fuel.” Energy bills, which have already risen 400% in some countries, “are pushing consumers into near-poverty”.
For some, you will have to choose between heating the house or eating. The situation is forcing governments to offer huge subsidies, distorting their budgets, in hopes of avoiding popular backlash and pressure to persuade Ukraine to surrender to Putin. And some have already returned to burning coal.
If we want to drive oil and gas prices down to reasonably low levels to fuel the US economy and help European allies escape Russia’s iron grip, while accelerating clean energy production (the Energy Triad), we need that plan. transition that balances climate, energy and economic security.
Biden has just given a huge boost to clean energy production in the US with his climate law, which also encourages cleaner production of gas and oil, through incentives to reduce methane leaks and for them to invest more in carbon capture technologies. .
But the most important factor is to give companies that produce clean energy (and the banks that finance them) regulatory certainty that if they invest billions, the government will help them build the transmission lines and pipelines to bring their energy to market. .
Greens like solar panels but hate transmission lines. They will hardly be able to save the planet with this approach.
To win the backing of Senator Joe Manchin, Democratic leaders in the Senate, led by Chuck Schumer, struck a secondary deal: backing a bill that would wipe out, but not eliminate, environmental and regulatory overhauls that often make it difficult to authorize construction of lines. transmission and gas pipelines. If our main path to decarbonization is through vehicle electrification and power generation from renewable sources, we’re going to need more transmission paths — and more natural gas systems to turn to when it’s not windy or sunny.
For these and other reasons, Biden and nearly all Democratic senators want to see this package passed. Schumer plans to annex it to a bill that Congress will have to pass to keep the government operating beyond the end of the fiscal year on September 30. Sadly, Senator Bernie Sanders is opposed to the package, as are more than 70 Democrats. It’s unclear how many will go as far as blocking the text, but at least some will.
Soon, lobbyists urged Republican lawmakers to vote in favor of the legislation, to make up for progressives who are saying “no.” But the Republican Party told the oil companies to pick themselves up. Acronym lawmakers won’t do anything to generate another success for Biden.
I don’t know who is more irresponsible: the arrogant progressives, false moralists, who want an immaculate green revolution overnight, with solar panels and wind farms but no new pipelines or transmission lines; or the cynical, falsely tough Republicans who would rather see Putin win and energy companies lose than do what’s right for the US and Ukraine, agreeing with Biden.
American energy policy today needs to be democracy’s arsenal to defeat petro-Putinism in Europe, providing allies with the oil and gas they desperately need, at reasonable prices, so that Putin cannot blackmail them. American energy policy needs to be the engine of economic growth that produces the cleanest, most affordable fossil fuel energy to use as we transition to a low-carbon economy.
And it needs to be at the forefront of the process of multiplying renewable sources, to bring the world to this low carbon future as quickly as possible. Any policy that does not maximize these three factors will leave us with less health, less prosperity and less security.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
