The White House staff probably won’t be walking back Sunday’s remarks by President Joe Biden, but it’s time for the administration to retire a set of talking points that have grown awfully stale.
That’s because even the most ardent backers of alternative energy are recognizing that the world has changed. [bold, links added]
A recent Journal editorial noted the begrudging acceptance of the need for fossil fuels among German politicians. These days reality is starting to spread all over Europe.
The Washington Post reported last week:
Austria, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands announced plans this week to prepare to resurrect old coal plants as gas supplies dwindled. The moves came just days after Moscow reduced natural gas flows to several European countries, including Italy and Slovakia, alarming leaders who are worried about energy reserves ahead of winter.
Yet while recent events have reminded people all over the world of the need for cheap and abundant energy, a visitor to the continent this week continues to promote inefficient power projects.
At the famous Schloss Elmau in Krün, Germany, on Sunday evening, President Joe Biden said:
We need worldwide effort to invest in transformative clean energy projects to ensure that critical infrastructure is resilient to changing climate.
Critical materials that are necessary for our clean energy transition, including the production of batteries, need to be developed with high standards for labor and the environment.
Fast and reliable transportation infrastructure, including railroads and ports, is essential to moving inputs for refining and processing and expanding access to clean energy technologies.
For example, the U.S. government just facilitated a new partnership between two American firms and the government of Angola to invest $2 billion in building new solar projects in Angola.
It’s a partnership that will help Angola meet its climate goals and energy needs while creating new markets for American technologies and good jobs in Angola and, I suspect, throughout Africa.
But throughout Africa—not to mention among American taxpayers—there are many people who understand that expensive and unreliable solar power is not the path to prosperity.
Bjorn Lomborg recently wrote in these pages:
The developed world’s response to the global energy crisis has put its hypocritical attitude toward fossil fuels on display. Wealthy countries admonish developing ones to use renewable energy.
Last month the Group of Seven went so far as to announce they would no longer fund fossil-fuel development abroad. Meanwhile, Europe and the U.S. are begging Arab nations to expand oil production…
The developed world became wealthy through the pervasive use of fossil fuels, which still overwhelmingly power most of its economies…
Yet the world’s rich are trying to choke off funding for new fossil fuels in developing countries. An estimated 3.5 billion of the world’s poorest people have no reliable access to electricity.
Rather than give them access to the tools that have helped rich nations develop, wealthy countries blithely instruct developing nations to skip coal, gas and oil, and go straight to a green nirvana of solar panels and wind turbines.
Mr. Lomborg also helpfully pointed out the comments of Nigeria’s vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, recently quoted by the financial publication Nairametrics:
Justifying the case for a wholly African plan and vision on Climate Change, the Vice President said, “no country in the world has been able to industrialize using renewable energy and we (Africa) have been asked to industrialize using renewable energy when everybody else in the world knows that we need gas-powered industries for business.
“We need to have investments in fossil fuels. we need energy access for development. I am sure the force of the logic will make it inevitable for African leaders to see that it is actually the way to go.
“We actually need to create room for investments, not just in natural gas for export, but for cooking and for industry. So, I think that the sheer force of the logic of using gas to benefit our communities will make it inevitable for us to invest in fossil fuels.”
Can the force of Mr. Osinbajo’s logic penetrate the White House?
Team Biden has yet another opportunity to encourage the development of plentiful energy supplies here in the U.S.
The Washington Post’s Joshua Partlow reports that “the administration is weighing a proposal by ConocoPhillips for the next major phase in Arctic oil exploration.” It’s called the Willow project and Mr. Partlow adds:
A ConocoPhillips official last year told investors that the Willow infrastructure could ultimately help unlock 3 billion barrels of oil — far more than the 586 million barrels that the Bureau of Land Management used to evaluate its climate impact.
Willow, the company said in an accompanying slide presentation, will be “the next great Alaska hub.”
Here’s hoping that Mr. Osinbajo’s logic will prevail from Alaska to Angola, and everywhere in between.
h/t Steve B.
Read more at WSJ
I think the author already knows the answer at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. At present, I see no signs that the WH staff has ANY capacity to have a rational discussion about energy policy. When you are driven by ideology, you have little capacity to look at facts and reason. There are PLENTY of examples worldwide that renewables are NOT the future of the energy transition. They are costly, intermittent and electricity (at present) only represents about 20% of U.S primary energy. There is a much bigger picture (here) to address, provided you understand energy imperatives. Regrettably, I see little hope that the current Administration can “pivot” and open a constructive conversation to address the ongoing challenges in the energy sector. Too bad. We will continue to waste a lot of time, a LOT of money and there will be considerable suffering as long as a serious discussion about our national energy policy can’t get underway…
OK, here is an article that elaborates a bit on the current energy challenges. The one part I disagree with is that all cars will be EV’s by 2040. I question whether there is the mineral resource base (domestically) to support conversion of millions of vehicles in the U.S., let alone worldwide. In effect, Exxon’s CEO is suggesting (really) that we are out over our skis (a bit) on the energy transition: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Exxon-CEO-Warns-That-Consumers-Will-Pay-For-Hasty-Energy-Transition.html
If you want all electric cars, start digging. But not here, of course, because the Greenies care about the environment here. Dig somewhere else where you can use cheap child labor and have no environmental laws.
This whole Go Green movement has been taken over by the usial bunch of Globalists and Despots in the United Nations
Biden and his supporters still travel using Fossil Fuels Hollywood nit wit Robert Redford claiming Fossil Fuels are Cooking the Earth while he did ads for United Airlines(Its time to Fly)and when will Gore the Bore make any Sacrifices in his lifestyle
He keeps recycling Obama’s lies
The dumb bastid can’t even come up
with a fresh lie.
All he has to do is turn on MSNGC
If Joe Biden had the slightest idea of what we “the people” think of him, he’d be back in his basement, in the fetal position and the lights turn off.