The West is to blame for the energy crisis and rapid inflation, writes the Wall Street Journal. Decades of pushing the green agenda have weakened democracies and are strengthening the influence of autocracies.
The two core problems facing the West today cannot be blamed on external forces. Neither the pandemic nor Putin and his February invasion of Ukraine are to blame for the energy crisis or rapid inflation. The West itself is to blame for them. IN comments a member of its editorial board, Joseph Sternberg, writes to the Wall Street Journal.
Cruel truth. The world needs twice as much nuclear energy as it can produce
For the world to meet its climate goals, a nuclear energy renaissance will have to happen. However, this is hindered by a number of problems ranging from political to purely economic, according to the current report of the International Energy Agency.
Sternberg looks back at the Bavarian meeting of the leaders of the G7 countries. It is said that its key actors are just trying to passively “sit out” the mentioned core problems of today. Apparently because they would otherwise they had to admit their own or their predecessors’ fatal mistakes.
According to Sternberg, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine fully exposed how the West’s dependence on energy and other resources and raw materials from Russia and other autocracies is dangerous. “Several decades of pursuing a green agenda in democratic countries have stifled the production of reliable fossil energy, leaving the West to increasingly rely on unreliable green sources,” Sternberg writes.
Lukáš Kovanda: The main task of this government? Use the EU presidency to make energy cheaper
The Czechia should use its presidency of the European Union, which begins today, to initiate the return of rationality in the energy sector. Prime Minister Fiala talks more about energy sovereignty, but it is not achievable. It is important to start returning to energy rationality.
However, the leaders of the G7 countries have not forgotten the goals of the Green Agenda even in the current critical period, he notes. Now, however, their senselessness and even bizarreness are already showing. This can be seen, for example, when the G7 leaders promise to reduce the production of electricity from coal at a time when the most developed countries in the world, including Germany or Britain, on the contrary, are noticeably increasing production in coal-fired power plants. Because they have nothing else left.
Renewable resources although they are “mandatory” mentioned in the final communique of the G7 summit, it is still clear that they they will not lead the western world out of the energy crisis. “Unless there is progress in energy storage, industrial economies simply cannot be sufficiently powered by wind or solar energy,” Sternberg states.
A tragic half-year. US stocks are experiencing their worst times since the Caribbean crisis
Americans are getting ready to celebrate Independence Day. But many have no reason to rejoice. The stock markets, in which the vast majority of US citizens have saved money for their old age, are experiencing the worst half-year since 1970 (S&P 500), and some even since 1962 (Dow Jones index).
Politicians of developed Western countries are thus comforted by at least hope. The hope is to eventually develop technologies that enable carbon-neutral prosperity. They are willing to support this hope with massive subsidies, i.e. just another debt. Therefore, in the end, further inflation. Because they have nothing else left.
As long as the West does not develop the technology in question – and the question is whether it will ever develop it at all – it will always have to “crawl” in the end anyway before autocrats of the Putin type, who, unlike the West, do not hesitate to continue extracting cheap fossil resources. By the way, just because autocrats don’t want to divest from fossil fuels means they do global carbon dioxide emissions will not fall significantly even if the EU itself becomes completely carbon neutral – at the cost of its huge economic losses, and therefore at the cost of the rise of Russia, China and other autocracies.
Survey: Half of Czechs live paycheck to paycheck. Further price increases can have fatal consequences
The standard of living of Czechs is falling sharply. Households assess their economic situation similarly to the last crisis more than ten years ago. Half of people surveyed in a May STEM survey say they can’t get by on their current income. Two fifths are afraid of the future in the form of further price increases.
Although Putin is undoubtedly contributing to the rapid inflation facing the West, according to Sternberg, its essence lies in something completely different. Namely in the pumping of billions and trillions of new money undertaken by the central banks and governments of the West during the pandemic. They actually stopped with him only now. Late. According to Sternberg, inflationary destruction is already underway. And it kills both business and investment.
At the same time, the G7 leaders are only passively watching the inflationary disaster. In the summit communiqué, they prefer to mention inflation only once.
They have nothing else left.
–
