This really is an exceptional article on this issue of fossil fuel subsidies. And I want to expand on something mentioned in the article.
“but Europe looked to coal and natural gas from other countries to stockpile fuel reserves for winter”
I think it is important to look at the secondary effects of policies like this, because as is discussed in the article about broken promises, those effects really illustrate how much of a broken promise this all is.
Europe is buying massive amounts of natural gas and coal, as mentioned, and since they are much wealthier than other countries who need that natural gas, they can out buy them. Which then leads to those countries having to burn more carbon intensive fuels like coal.
“Pakistan plans to quadruple its domestic coal-fired capacity to reduce power generation costs and will not build new gas-fired plants in the coming years”
“Despite power demand increasing in 2022, Pakistan's annual LNG imports fell to the lowest levels in five years as European buyers elbowed out price-sensitive consumers.”
All while pushing an image on the global stage of being leaders of a clean energy transition, and telling poorer countries to not build or use infrastructure like coal plants.
Which they shouldn’t, but then don’t be surprised when they have to resort to stuff like coal when you are buying the natural gas they would have used instead.
And that isn’t even getting into how Europe will get the energy benefits of these fuels, while poorer developing countries have to deal with the negatives of extracting and processing them.
Wealthy Europe is subsidizing fossil fuels not only in the market price, but since they have a carbon trading market, they are paying even more, so poorer countries have to subsidize new coal plants. All while pushing this image of being leaders on a clean energy transition.
When in fact it is their own abject failure of having sensible clean energy policy, worsening the climate crisis. Just a despicable broken promise.
I really don’t have a word for it other than it is just fucked and it makes me so god damn angry.
And for whatever it’s worth, I have never and will never be disappointed in anything HEATED publishes or produces. So much work goes into everything you do, and it matters so fucking much, I’m never disappointed by it.
I live near part of the route of the proposed Uinta Oil Train. The section of new rail line is asking for subsidized loans from a US DOT fund. Two billion bucks or so I think. Who knows if these subsidies are even counted as "fossil fuel." https://coloradosun.com/2023/02/24/uinta-basin-railway-bonds/
Emily and Arielle, thanks for delivering such informed and thorough reporting. I’m never sorry for the investment in independent climate journalism like HEATED. I’m mad as hell and I’m doing something about it. Your newsletter feeds our community and helps us build momentum.
I fully understand the criticisms of treaties not being enforceable and/or having real consequences for noncompliance. But then I think, ok - play this out fully. What does it take to make them enforceable? And by what authority? Who will be the global police against the top polluters? That is something we rarely see beyond a few what-ifs. What is the real, tangible penalty? A time-out? Perhaps more economic sanctions on struggling economies?
The trade tariff proposal is one way, but then play that out to full execution. Just like during the Trump years when all the criticisms of tariffs stated it is the poor people in the US that really end up paying the extra money. And maybe those tariffs just end up a business transaction vs. actually making progress with emissions reductions.
The Montreal Protocol is often used as an example of something that works, but it is never explained how exactly that works with something far more reaching into our economic engine.
It’s been also said that we essentially need the reductions that happened during the global pandemic to be happening every year, with all the reductions in economic activity that go along with it. How in the world do we make that happen ?
I appreciate bringing forward the failures of all of the past agreements. The frustrations are warranted and shared. But when it comes down to it, making an enforceable plan and acknowledging all the ramifications to make it that way is pretty darn tough. We have certainly created one massive hole for ourselves. I fear it will ultimately be Nature that will play the part of the enforcer, the higher authority. And she will be fierce and unrelenting.
But...I want to brief you all on the many myths versus facts that have polluted the public discourse and sent us on the wrong journey that will distract us and destroy our national productivity and prosperity and our civilization as we know it....
We have many MUCH MORE important issues other than the so called climate change emergency such as …
Uncontrolled left wing extremism resulting in the woke based indoctrination of our children.
The safe spaced cancel cultural destruction of our further education establishments.
Poor public health compliance and foolish social re-engineering allowing rank sexual deviation and the role of the family process contributing to a decline in our birth rates.
We have uncontrolled immigration that needs rapid attention.
We have the weakening of nationalism through a bad history of uncontrolled globalism leading to the destruction of our industrial independence and sovereignty.
The threat of geopolitical instability and war exasperated by the above distractions enabled by the break down in the democratic machine preventing the west from performing its role in stabilizing the global order.
The fuel "crisis" prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine was another missed opportunity to seriously rethink our reliance on fossil fuels. Instead, we literally doubled down on subsidies. It would be more disappointing if it weren't so predictable.
I was reacting to the notion that image is more important than facts...... and its clear that many treat the climate change emergency as a religion rather than a policy process..... To say we are in tribes. (woke and other wise) rather than in search of common truth is my main point to my statement... The only solution is open debate….. not polarization and tribalism.
By far, the most important measure is how quickly we build up green energy sources. It was terribly disappointing that the US/EU didn't meet the moment of the Ukrainian war with a massive, national emergency green energy building plan.
As soon as the market is flooded with low cost, green energy, the fossil fuel companies and petro-dictators lose all influence.
Climate Change is NOT the problem, but our policies ARE!
All the climate activists need a reset on where they are at..…
It’s clear the climate change mitigation journey is a huge mistake and a distraction from setting the correct policies.
I have been watching the 2-day 15th International Conference on Climate Change hosted by the Heartland Institute.
WATCH THE LIVE STREAMS - 15th International Conference on Climate Change (heartland.org)
These great scientific presentations categorically reinforce my position outlined in my recent book at www.nigelsouthwayauthor.com that most of the world leadership and the elites are listening to the wrong experts and the rhetoric from the frightened and misinformed activists.
This is forcing policies that are taking us in completely the wrong direction. The current policies will certainly destroy not only our prosperity, but in some cases, do real harm to our civilization across the spectrum of both mature and emerging nations.
This foolish woke ridden policy approach is at best a fanatical religious group-think-death-spiral trapped in a political vortex, or at worst is being declared by some as a carefully designed elitist “great reset” to rite-size the population explosion or serve some other more nefarious objectives.
Whatever the reason, the outcome will not be good, and the biggest issue is not just the wrong direction, but that it is a huge distraction, and is preventing our societies from getting on with doing the right things.
In summary, climate change is NOT an emergency, and the natural climate change that is warming the planet and mainly increasing the CO2 levels is on balance good news, and in the main is our friend, by extending the greening of the planet and increasing our food supplies.
As global warming continues to occur we will have plenty of time to plan for any adaption, although the scientific facts indicate that it will be a very minor need.
Certainly, CO2 is not our enemy and the notion that we should panic and abandon the strong and significant benefits of fossil fuels before we are completely ready to either improve them or replace them is again a fools errand.
Our focus should be on pollution reduction not climate change. We certainly do not need any level of climate mitigation effort, with the foolish and wasteful journey to wind and solar at the expense of the eventual need to pursue the nuclearization of our economies to support industrialization and eventual significant electrification of our societies.
What is an emergency is acting now to ensure we have a much more open and urgent debate to better match the future policies with the economic and scientific facts, before we do real harm to all our near and long term futures.
This really is an exceptional article on this issue of fossil fuel subsidies. And I want to expand on something mentioned in the article.
“but Europe looked to coal and natural gas from other countries to stockpile fuel reserves for winter”
I think it is important to look at the secondary effects of policies like this, because as is discussed in the article about broken promises, those effects really illustrate how much of a broken promise this all is.
Europe is buying massive amounts of natural gas and coal, as mentioned, and since they are much wealthier than other countries who need that natural gas, they can out buy them. Which then leads to those countries having to burn more carbon intensive fuels like coal.
“Pakistan plans to quadruple its domestic coal-fired capacity to reduce power generation costs and will not build new gas-fired plants in the coming years”
“Despite power demand increasing in 2022, Pakistan's annual LNG imports fell to the lowest levels in five years as European buyers elbowed out price-sensitive consumers.”
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/pakistan-plans-quadruple-domestic-coal-fired-power-move-away-gas-2023-02-13/
All while pushing an image on the global stage of being leaders of a clean energy transition, and telling poorer countries to not build or use infrastructure like coal plants.
Which they shouldn’t, but then don’t be surprised when they have to resort to stuff like coal when you are buying the natural gas they would have used instead.
And that isn’t even getting into how Europe will get the energy benefits of these fuels, while poorer developing countries have to deal with the negatives of extracting and processing them.
Wealthy Europe is subsidizing fossil fuels not only in the market price, but since they have a carbon trading market, they are paying even more, so poorer countries have to subsidize new coal plants. All while pushing this image of being leaders on a clean energy transition.
When in fact it is their own abject failure of having sensible clean energy policy, worsening the climate crisis. Just a despicable broken promise.
I really don’t have a word for it other than it is just fucked and it makes me so god damn angry.
And for whatever it’s worth, I have never and will never be disappointed in anything HEATED publishes or produces. So much work goes into everything you do, and it matters so fucking much, I’m never disappointed by it.
Really, thank you for the excellent article.
I live near part of the route of the proposed Uinta Oil Train. The section of new rail line is asking for subsidized loans from a US DOT fund. Two billion bucks or so I think. Who knows if these subsidies are even counted as "fossil fuel." https://coloradosun.com/2023/02/24/uinta-basin-railway-bonds/
Another example of how the fossil fuel industry puts profits over the health of Americans:
https://www.desmog.com/2022/11/30/fracking-coterra-cabot-pleads-case-dimock-water-contamination/
The recent chemical catastrophe of the Ohio train derailment near the border of Pennsylvania:
https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2023/02/chemicals-released-after-train-crash-on-ohiopa-border-what-were-they-and-whats-next.html
Emily and Arielle, thanks for delivering such informed and thorough reporting. I’m never sorry for the investment in independent climate journalism like HEATED. I’m mad as hell and I’m doing something about it. Your newsletter feeds our community and helps us build momentum.
I fully understand the criticisms of treaties not being enforceable and/or having real consequences for noncompliance. But then I think, ok - play this out fully. What does it take to make them enforceable? And by what authority? Who will be the global police against the top polluters? That is something we rarely see beyond a few what-ifs. What is the real, tangible penalty? A time-out? Perhaps more economic sanctions on struggling economies?
The trade tariff proposal is one way, but then play that out to full execution. Just like during the Trump years when all the criticisms of tariffs stated it is the poor people in the US that really end up paying the extra money. And maybe those tariffs just end up a business transaction vs. actually making progress with emissions reductions.
The Montreal Protocol is often used as an example of something that works, but it is never explained how exactly that works with something far more reaching into our economic engine.
It’s been also said that we essentially need the reductions that happened during the global pandemic to be happening every year, with all the reductions in economic activity that go along with it. How in the world do we make that happen ?
I appreciate bringing forward the failures of all of the past agreements. The frustrations are warranted and shared. But when it comes down to it, making an enforceable plan and acknowledging all the ramifications to make it that way is pretty darn tough. We have certainly created one massive hole for ourselves. I fear it will ultimately be Nature that will play the part of the enforcer, the higher authority. And she will be fierce and unrelenting.
Nice article...
But...I want to brief you all on the many myths versus facts that have polluted the public discourse and sent us on the wrong journey that will distract us and destroy our national productivity and prosperity and our civilization as we know it....
a good summary at..
http://www.sme-tbm.org/app/download/7250090750/Some+talking+points+on+energy+and+Climate..pdf
We have many MUCH MORE important issues other than the so called climate change emergency such as …
Uncontrolled left wing extremism resulting in the woke based indoctrination of our children.
The safe spaced cancel cultural destruction of our further education establishments.
Poor public health compliance and foolish social re-engineering allowing rank sexual deviation and the role of the family process contributing to a decline in our birth rates.
We have uncontrolled immigration that needs rapid attention.
We have the weakening of nationalism through a bad history of uncontrolled globalism leading to the destruction of our industrial independence and sovereignty.
The threat of geopolitical instability and war exasperated by the above distractions enabled by the break down in the democratic machine preventing the west from performing its role in stabilizing the global order.
More at www.nigelsouthwayauthor.com
The fuel "crisis" prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine was another missed opportunity to seriously rethink our reliance on fossil fuels. Instead, we literally doubled down on subsidies. It would be more disappointing if it weren't so predictable.
Tom
I was reacting to the notion that image is more important than facts...... and its clear that many treat the climate change emergency as a religion rather than a policy process..... To say we are in tribes. (woke and other wise) rather than in search of common truth is my main point to my statement... The only solution is open debate….. not polarization and tribalism.
So very true!
By far, the most important measure is how quickly we build up green energy sources. It was terribly disappointing that the US/EU didn't meet the moment of the Ukrainian war with a massive, national emergency green energy building plan.
As soon as the market is flooded with low cost, green energy, the fossil fuel companies and petro-dictators lose all influence.
Climate Change is NOT the problem, but our policies ARE!
All the climate activists need a reset on where they are at..…
It’s clear the climate change mitigation journey is a huge mistake and a distraction from setting the correct policies.
I have been watching the 2-day 15th International Conference on Climate Change hosted by the Heartland Institute.
WATCH THE LIVE STREAMS - 15th International Conference on Climate Change (heartland.org)
These great scientific presentations categorically reinforce my position outlined in my recent book at www.nigelsouthwayauthor.com that most of the world leadership and the elites are listening to the wrong experts and the rhetoric from the frightened and misinformed activists.
This is forcing policies that are taking us in completely the wrong direction. The current policies will certainly destroy not only our prosperity, but in some cases, do real harm to our civilization across the spectrum of both mature and emerging nations.
This foolish woke ridden policy approach is at best a fanatical religious group-think-death-spiral trapped in a political vortex, or at worst is being declared by some as a carefully designed elitist “great reset” to rite-size the population explosion or serve some other more nefarious objectives.
Whatever the reason, the outcome will not be good, and the biggest issue is not just the wrong direction, but that it is a huge distraction, and is preventing our societies from getting on with doing the right things.
In summary, climate change is NOT an emergency, and the natural climate change that is warming the planet and mainly increasing the CO2 levels is on balance good news, and in the main is our friend, by extending the greening of the planet and increasing our food supplies.
As global warming continues to occur we will have plenty of time to plan for any adaption, although the scientific facts indicate that it will be a very minor need.
Certainly, CO2 is not our enemy and the notion that we should panic and abandon the strong and significant benefits of fossil fuels before we are completely ready to either improve them or replace them is again a fools errand.
Our focus should be on pollution reduction not climate change. We certainly do not need any level of climate mitigation effort, with the foolish and wasteful journey to wind and solar at the expense of the eventual need to pursue the nuclearization of our economies to support industrialization and eventual significant electrification of our societies.
What is an emergency is acting now to ensure we have a much more open and urgent debate to better match the future policies with the economic and scientific facts, before we do real harm to all our near and long term futures.