{"id":259041,"date":"2023-05-25T18:56:47","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T16:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=259041"},"modified":"2023-05-25T18:56:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T16:56:50","slug":"the-eus-net-zero-obsession-will-make-europe-poorer-colder-and-darker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=259041","title":{"rendered":"The EU\u00b4s Net Zero obsession will make Europe poorer, colder and darker."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\u00a0Spiked<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0JAMES WOUDHUYSEN<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
BERLIN, GERMANY – OCTOBER 24: The Berlin Cathedral and Berlin Television Tower (Fernsehturm) are no longer illuminated at night as part of an energy-saving measure on October 24, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. The German government is considering a partial price cap on natural gas prices for consumers and industry. For consumers the price would be set at 12 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 80% of the previous year’s consumption amount and to begin in March, 2023. In addition the government would reimburse consumers for their December, 2022, natural gas bill. (Photo by Maja Hitij\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Brussels’ Net Zero obsession will make Europe poorer, colder and darker.<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen hailed the \u2018amazing progress\u2019 being made by the EU\u2019s Green Deal legislation. It is a funny kind of progress, however. The Commission is pushing through countless regulations in its effort to \u2018decarbonise\u2019 Europe and to force member states towards Net Zero by 2050. The pace of regulation is now so great that the leader of Europe\u2019s manufacturing employers\u2019 association has described it as a regulation \u2018tsunami<\/a>\u2019. He says it has severely damaged his members\u2019 competitiveness on world markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I show in \u2018Lights Out: Is the EU Failing on Energy Policy?<\/a>\u2019, a new white paper published this week, the EU\u2019s commitment to green objectives is not only harming businesses, it is also deepening Europe\u2019s energy crisis. The main problem is that instead of trying to improve energy production \u2013 save for subsidising and incentivising renewables \u2013 the EU is investing almost all of its political capital in trying to cut corporate and personal energy consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, these cuts need to be made to fight the so-called climate emergency. In Brussels, there is no talk of how best to maximise coal or gas production, and no will to build new nuclear reactors. All of which are desperately needed to help keep Europe\u2019s lights on. Energy policy has become entirely subservient to climate policy, regardless of the consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unsurprisingly, member states are starting to grumble at this approach. French president Emmanuel Macron has expressed concern about the impact of the EU\u2019s green rules on France\u2019s energy supplies. As it stands, the EU\u2019s Green Deal only gives backing to renewable energy. But that excludes the largest source of France\u2019s energy \u2013 namely, nuclear power, which is carbon-free but not renewable. Macron is sensibly calling on Brussels to classify French nuclear energy as \u2018green\u2019. But for some inexplicable reason, von der Leyen and the Commission do not see much of a role for nuclear power<\/a> in the EU\u2019s decarbonisation strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not just France that is at odds with the EU over energy. Other member states, with their own very different energy endowments and national interests, are increasingly finding themselves in conflict with the EU, or are acting without its say-so. For example, when the war in Ukraine prompted the EU to reduce its reliance on Russian gas,\u00a0Berlin<\/a>,\u00a0Warsaw<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Rome<\/a>\u00a0went around the world in search of supplies of liquefied natural gas independently of Brussels. There was no coordination of energy supplies from the EU. It was a case of every member state for itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dangers of the EU\u2019s energy policies are already becoming clear. For example, the EU\u2019s obsession with cutting energy use, combined with soaring energy bills, has already led some German factories to shut down and relocate abroad. This prompted one Deutsche Bank economist to exclaim<\/a>: \u2018When we look back at the current energy crisis in 10 years or so, we might consider this time as the starting point for an accelerated deindustrialisation in Germany.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He could be right. The EU\u2019s demand for lower energy consumption will likely result in less industry, and lower living standards for Europe\u2019s working class. The EU promises a glorious green future of heat pumps, electric cars, renewables and \u2013 most surreally \u2013 a \u2018hydrogen economy<\/a>\u2019. But the reality will be a much lower quality of life in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a glimpse of this dark future last year. To beat the Kremlin and save the planet<\/a>, Europeans were told explicitly to ration their personal use of energy. Germany stopped lighting its public buildings at night. The Netherlands urged showers of no longer than five minutes<\/a>. Spain insisted that thermostats could run no higher than 19 degrees Celsius<\/a>. And France launched a campaign for \u2018energy sobriety<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incredibly, things could have been even worse than this. Europe was effectively saved from blackouts by a mild winter, which significantly reduced demand for energy. But thanks to the EU\u2019s Net Zero obsession, the threat of blackouts will likely loom for many winters to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen hailed the \u2018amazing progress\u2019 being made by the EU\u2019s Green Deal legislation. It is a funny kind of progress, however. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":259082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691819734,691818154,691818130,691818299],"class_list":{"0":"post-259041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-eus-green-deal","10":"tag-net-zero","11":"tag-renewables","12":"tag-subsidies","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0874906_XXL.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-15o5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":255535,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=255535","url_meta":{"origin":259041,"position":0},"title":"Let Them Ride Bikes! 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