By Jack Dini ——Bio and Archives--February 14, 2024
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Something rather amazing is happening across Western Europe, although American media outlets would like to pretend that nothing is happening. The sea change is that ordinary people are pushing back against green policies that will destroy farming and also the food supply. (1)
The farmers protests began last year in the Netherlands, when the government announced that it intended to cut livestock farming by 30 percent to prevent greenhouse gases. Because these policies are not limited to the Netherlands but have spread across Europe, the same farmer protests are now in other European nations.
Brussels removed the order on reduced emissions linked to agriculture after mounting anger across Europe. The European Union has caved in to angry protests from farmers and cut a target to slash agriculture emissions as part of the bloc's net zero drive. A demand to reduce nitrogen, methane and other emissions linked to farming by almost a third has been removed from a wider Brussels plan to cut greenhouse gs emissions by 90 percent by 2040. (2)
In spite of the above, Germany is currently in recession and the economic outlook is anything but positive. The economic upturn through the green transformation promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz is unlikely to materialize in 2024. The Financial Times reported: "Germany was the worst performing major economy in the world last year." (3)
One of the factors exacerbating this recession is the high energy prices caused by green policies. They are causing companies to relocate their business abroad or even temporarily shut down their production facilities.
Some examples: Construction equipment manufacturer Liebherr is putting 1,000 employees on short time working for 9 months. Stiehl, Gardena, and Hansgrohe are 'opting for short time working and job cuts.' Other famous German companies planning cuts include textile group Groz-Beckert and chainsaw manufacturer Stihl.
Leverkusen-based pharmaceutical and agrochemical group Bayer plan massive job cuts. Another victim of Germany's green policies is renowned iron foundry and automotive supplier Eisenwerk Hasenclever & Sohn. Despite a proud history of 250 years the firm has now filed for insolvency. Machinery builder Hornag has announced that it will cut some 600 jobs worldwide. (4)
Not only politicians, but also companies are starting to get hysterical when it comes to climate. There are now drastic wage cuts if employees drive or eat meat. The soccer club Vfl Osnabruck calculates on how much salary to deduct based on things like how far its employees travel to work and how much meat they consume. However, in the current environment of a skilled workers shortage, other companies may be extremely hesitant to enact such a draconian and personally intrusive policy. It also likely violates the German labor laws. In any case it does show just how loony the climate craze is getting. (5)
What is the driver of inflation and all the German economic misery? The rising cost of energy caused by the government's incompetent energy policies.
The German electricity price is three times as high as in the US. Criticism is being voiced about Germany's energy policy. This exists over the fact that the phase out of coal and nuclear energy is not well coordinated with the European Union. Energy policy has three main objectives: low prices, security of supply and environmental protection with regard to carbon dioxide emissions. German energy policy performs poorly in all three areas. (4)
The entire energy transition is a complete total failure. Even with the redistribution of hundreds of billions of euros, more economic damage has been done than any benefit achieved. The country is still extremely far away from the so-called climate goals in terms of decarbonization. (6)
Germany's renewable energies have gone from a boom to crisis. The outlook for the renewable energy sector has deteriorated drastically and affordable raw materials have become hard to get. Manufacturers are now reeling. The renewable energy sector is facing the abyss and is on the brink. (7)
Energy poverty is spreading in Germany. Citizens, especially seniors, can no longer keep warm at home. Senior citizens, due to high energy prices, are being increasingly forced into a life of poverty and struggling to keep warm at home. Many pensioners can no longer pay heating costs and so they spend time at so-called warming places, like charitable organizations. It's just too expensive to pay for heat at home. (8)
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Dozens of British wind farms run by some of Europe's largest energy companies have routinely overestimated how much power they'll produce adding millions of pounds a year to consumers' electricity bills. These extra costs are linked to a growing problem with Britain's outdated electricity network. On blustery days, too much wind power risks overloading the system, and the grid operator must respond by paying some firms not to generate. This curtailment costs consumers hundreds of millions of pounds each year. (9)
At last year's UN climate conference in Dubai. the Biden administration agreed to triple the world's renewable energy capacity by 2050. It also joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance pledging to eliminate coal powered generation. Britain has been going down this path since 2008, when Parliament wrote an 80 percent decarbonization target into law, which it raised to 100 percent, or net zero, in 2018. This luxury net zero policy, which only the rich can afford has been devastating for both businesses and ordinary Britons just trying to heat their homes and get to work. (10)
Anyone looking to combat the activists pushing a net zero agenda in the US would be wise to read Rupert Darwall's report entitled "The Folly of Climate Leadership. (11)
The analysis tells the story of Great Britain and the cries for decarbonization, starting when Parliament wrote an 80% decrease in emissions target into law in 2008. They raised to 100%, or net zero, in 2019. The results have clearly been catastrophic.
Since decarbonization efforts commenced, Britain's economy has grown at half the rate as it did from 1990-2008. This is the second worst period of peacetime growth since 1780.
In addition to the economic malaise, British energy prices have skyrocketed, and Britons are now concerned with how to survive the effect of those costs on their wallets, as they look to heat and power their homes and businesses, travel for work and pleasure and live life as best they can. (12)
The difference between British energy costs and those in the US are staggering. Britons paid an average of $228 per megawatt hour (MWh) for electricity generated from coal in 2022, whereas Americans paid an average of $27 per MWh. For natural gas, 2022 saw Britons paying $251 per MWh, versus American consumers averaging $61 per MWh for their power.
The same arguments that have crippled Germany and Britain's economy are now being used by the Biden Administration with zealots in cabinet level positions, including Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, and EPA Director Michael Regan, pushing the message from their bully pulpits.
The recent, and completely misnamed, Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress provided the zealots with nearly $400 billion to dole out to supportive organizations and start-ups to jump start our nation's push for net zero. Those dollars, doled out with few oversights or performance metrics attached in many cases, have produced very few wins in the last year, unless a win is measured by keeping political cronies happy and rich.
Consider: wind energy projects in Nebraska, Colorado, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey were scrapped last year, even after untold millions of federal dollars went to their developers. Over 100 solar companies went bankrupt and solar projects from California to Florida were shuttered in the middle of their development. (12)
This is a warning for everyone else because Germany, Great Britain and Europe generally, are much further down the path of the net zero transition than the US.
There are no optimistic economic signals in sight. Energy prices, inflation and catastrophic economic policies are rapidly sinking economic prosperity.
Germany and others are thus impressively showing the world that the green craze is doomed to failure. These people do not want to sacrifice their quality of life and their jobs to some utopian goals that are in any case based only on ideological assumptions and incomplete data sets.
After years of misguided energy policies, Europe's electricity has become so expensive that trade unions have started warning of the threat of deindustrialization. The warning will hopefully prove a salutary one for the US, which is now headed down the same road to energy serfdom. (13)
1. Andrea Widburg, "Boiling point reached on green policies," principia-scientific.com, February 12, 2024
2. "Net zero dropped by EU after farmers protest," principia- scientific.com, February 9, 2024
3. P. Gosselin, "Sickest economy in Europe: green policies corrode business, Germany's economy plummets," notrickszone.com, January 16, 2024
4. P. Gosselin, "Green bloodbath: major industries closing down as German energy prices soar," wattsupwiththat.com, November 15, 2024
5. P. Gosselin, "Germany: employer now docking wages of employees who eat meat, drive autos," notrickszone.com, October 25, 2023
6. P. Gosselin, "Germany's green craze is expensive, destructive, and useless, a total failure," notrickszone.com, October 31, 2023
7. P. Gosselin, "Germany: renewable energy sector facing the abyss, on the brink, economy breaking up," notrickszone.com, Decembeer 27, 2023
8. P. Gosselin, "Heat becomes unaffordable in Germany, seniors struggle staying warm at public heating places," notrickszone.com, January 23, 2024
9. James Freeman, "Waste in the wind: green subsidies fleecing UK electricity customers," climatechangedispatch.com, February 6, 2024
10. Andy Puzder, "Britain's disastrous path to net zero is a warning to the US," heritage.org, February 8, 2024
11. Rupert Darwall, "The Folly of Climate Leadership", Real Clear Foundation, December 2023
12. Rick Whitbeck, "New report highlights green failure in Europe and warns America," realclearenergy.org, January 4, 2024
13. Mario Loyola, "High electricity prices have Europe facing deindustrialization; don't let it happen here," thehill.com, January 28, 2024
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Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology. He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.