Ye Editor's Selected Key Quotes
"Energy costs are climbing out of control.
A gallon of gas costs nearly $1 more than a year ago.
Americans are experiencing sticker shock this winter on home-heating costs.
Though part of this is due to the world restarting after the pandemic, climate policies are increasingly driving prices up.
We need a change of direction.
Fossil fuels still deliver the vast majority of energy.
The European Union puts climate at the top of its political agenda, yet more than 80% of its primary energy needs are met by fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency.
Despite endless environmental talk, solar and wind contribute only about 3% of Europe’s total energy.
When the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, prices rise quickly and we have to revert to fossil fuels for backup.
Batteries are inadequate and expensive, easily quadrupling solar electricity costs and failing to provide much power.
In 2021, Europe only had battery capacity to backup less than 1 ½ minutes of its average electricity usage.
By 2030, with 10 times the stock of batteries, and somewhat more usage needed, they’ll have enough for 12 minutes.
... The Bank of America has found that achieving net-zero will cost $150 trillion over 30 years, almost twice the combined annual GDP of every country on Earth.
The annual cost of $5 trillion is more than all the world’s governments and households spend every year on education.
That estimate is based on the fanciful assumption that costs are spread efficiently, with big emitters China and India cutting the most.
But India says it will only keep moving toward net-zero if the rest of the world pays it $1 trillion by 2030 — something that won’t happen.
... Research published in Nature finds that reducing emissions just 80% will cost the United States more than $2.1 trillion every year from 2050, or more than $5,000 per person, per year.
To put this in context, the annual US cost of World War II is estimated at $1 trillion in today’s money.
... Only when green energy is cheaper than fossil fuels will the world be able and willing to make the transition.
Otherwise, today’s energy prices are just a taste of things to come."
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Wednesday, February 23, 2022
The green agenda is too expensive, by Bjorn Lomborg
FULL ARTICLE HERE: