Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

We’ve read a lot about how the Ukraine conflict has increased the price of energy in the
international market. However, the root of the ongoing energy crisis is unrealistic policies based
on unscientific conclusions about climate, often drafted in plush European offices.

For years, energy markets across the globe were able to withstand the pressures of anti-fossil
fuel policies – partly because coal, oil and natural gas had made nations wealthy enough to do
so. Now, cracks are appearing in even the wealthiest of countries like the U.S. where the most
vulnerable members of society are being hit the hardest with high energy prices and shortages.

Many countries have embraced Net Zero, an unenforceable international requirement to emit
essentially no carbon dioxide from human activity. Although impossible to achieve, this
mythological target has spurred on the climate industrial complex to meet it. Proponents of
politically correct technologies are chasing government subsidies to pour into the rat holes of
wind turbines, solar panels, carbon capture, “green” hydrogen, ethanol and more.

Attempts to implement Net Zero will mostly produce financial casualties, both corporate and
individual.

Consider the UK’s plans: The country, which already has a dire energy situation, needs “400
percent more wind power by 2030 to hit interim climate targets…and that will require seven
times more infrastructure than has been built over the past 32 years.” All this expenditure of
effort and money will have no effect on the climate but will devastate economies.

Even small steps on this fool’s errand will come at great cost. “No normal person can afford to
spend $30,000 for solar panels,” says energy analyst Max Gagliardi. “They can’t even afford
bread, milk and meat at the grocery store right now. The ‘energy transition’ messaging is so out
of touch at this point.”

The economic pressure on people in developing countries is even more serious. “Emerging and
developing countries are most vulnerable to soaring energy prices,” says International Energy
Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Those who will be hit hardest include oil-importing
nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America because of higher import prices and their weaker
currencies.”

The World Bank notes that there has been a “sharp increase in coal, oil, and natural gas prices.
In nominal terms, crude oil prices have increased by 350 percent from April 2020 to April 2022 –
the largest increase for any equivalent two-year period since the 1970s. Meanwhile, coal and
gas prices have all reached historic highs in nominal terms.”

Developing countries pass this cost on to customers, resulting in higher prices for energy and
other essential commodities. Meanwhile there has been no commensurate increase in the
incomes of people. So, even if a country has not adopted Net Zero, its people will suffer
because they are subject to the supply-and-demand realities of international markets.

The fact that these countries have some of the greatest levels of impoverishment compounds
the effect of price hikes – in some cases, a literal death blow for those who live below the
poverty line of $2 per day.

“We are in the middle of the first truly global energy crisis,” Birol said. “Our world has never ever
witnessed an energy crisis with this depth and complexity.”

If they have the slightest regard for the well-being of families, leaders in the West must abandon
their obsession with destructive policies that are damaging lives worldwide.

Vijay Jayaraj is a Research Associate at the CO2 Coalition, Arlington, VA. He holds a
master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia, UK and
resides in India.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Vijay Jayaraj

Vijay Jayaraj is a research associate at the CO2 Coalition, Arlington, Va., and holds a master's degree in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia, U.K.He resides in Bengaluru, India.

Latest posts by Vijay Jayaraj (see all)

• No climate crisis for thriving honeybees - February 9, 2024
• Climate Falsification: Pakistan flooding and media’s hype - November 24, 2023
• India’s record aircraft orders ignore climate goals - June 23, 2023

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.