{"id":405733,"date":"2025-09-29T16:26:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=405733"},"modified":"2025-09-29T16:26:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:26:40","slug":"bjorn-lomborg-trumps-un-speech-reveals-inconvenient-truth-of-massive-green-energy-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=405733","title":{"rendered":"BJORN LOMBORG: Trump\u2019s UN speech reveals inconvenient truth of massive green energy costs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Donald<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

Germany, Spain and UK pay double or triple US rates despite huge renewable investments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Bjorn Lomborg<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Sept. 23,\u00a02025, U.N. General Assembly, President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0drew global headlines by blasting what he called the “extreme cost” of the\u00a0green transition,<\/a>\u00a0arguing that climate alarmism is impoverishing ordinary people while enriching elites. Fox News<\/a> has the story.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever one thinks of Trump\u2019s rhetoric, he touched on an inconvenient truth: despite endless assurances from campaigners and institutions like the U.N., World Bank, and World Economic Forum,\u00a0wind and solar<\/a>\u00a0are still not delivering cheap energy. In fact, they are making electricity more expensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, media and green advocates have insisted that solar and wind are now the cheapest forms of electricity. This claim is central to the idea that a green transition is inevitable and beneficial \u2014 even under a second Trump administration. But two decades of evidence shows the opposite. The countries that have added the most solar and wind also have the highest power costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big lie and the awkward truth <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The claim of “cheap” solar and wind is built on a sleight of hand. These sources are indeed often competitive when the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing. But modern societies need power 24\/7. When the sun is not shining and the wind not blowing, countries must rely on costly backup \u2014 mostly fossil fuels. Factoring in these costs reveals that renewables are far from cheap.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u00a0study of China\u00a0found solar\u2019s real cost was twice that of coal.\u00a0Research about Germany and Texas\u00a0showed that once backup costs are included, solar and wind go from appearing slightly cheaper to many times more expensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see this in consumer prices. Germany, Spain, Denmark and the U.K. have some of the world\u2019s highest electricity costs alongside massive investments in renewables. Last year, households and industries in the EU paid more than 26 cents per kilowatt-hour, more than double the U.S. price of 13 cents and triple the price in China. The U.K., with its even greener ambition, paid an eye-watering 36 cents per kilowatt-hour, nearly three times the U.S. price and more than four times the price in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across 70 countries, International Energy Agency data shows a clear pattern: more renewables, higher costs. Every 10% increase in the share of wind and solar raises average power costs by over four cents per kilowatt-hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Days without wind \u2014 or honesty <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Headlines often tout how Germany and other nations and states generate most of their electricity from renewables. But these stories never mention the dark, windless days when solar and wind provide almost nothing. Last winter, renewables repeatedly delivered less than 4% of Germany\u2019s power for an entire day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates say batteries will fix this problem. But all of Germany\u2019s storage would last less than 20 minutes. The reality:\u00a0fossil fuels<\/a>\u00a0remain essential, but because they now run less frequently, costs soar. Last November, when solar and wind provided almost nothing, wholesale\u00a0German prices spiked to $1 per kilowatt-hour\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As conventional plants shut down, the risks rise. A German utility CEO\u00a0warned\u00a0the country narrowly avoided blackouts only because the weather wasn\u2019t colder.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poor countries can\u2019t afford the lie <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If solar and wind were truly cheaper, poor countries would leapfrog to them. Yet the opposite is happening. Across developing nations, electricity demand rose almost 5% last year \u2014 mostly met by fossil fuels. China used more additional coal than it used additional solar and wind combined. Bangladesh used 13 times more additional coal than additional renewables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Germany, Spain and UK pay double or triple US rates despite huge renewable investments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":405740,"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":"Discover how Germany, Spain, and the UK face skyrocketing energy costs despite heavy investments in renewable energy sources.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Trump Highlights High Energy Costs of Renewables at UN","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":false,"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":[691827234,691818228,691818051,691838402,691820587,691838400,691833487,691838401],"class_list":{"0":"post-405733","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-european-union-eu","9":"tag-fossil-fuels","10":"tag-germany","11":"tag-not-green-and-not-cheap","12":"tag-solar-and-wind","13":"tag-u-n-general-assembly","14":"tag-us-president-donald-j-trump","15":"tag-worlds-highest-electricity-costs","17":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQOWgtMCM3wlngsLE4QNXOXJ-XCJHicDhT4qU7F51ZKS-4q6wZuwjm8QJ_0c518N6wvycSL8nxAv3m19TN1aFNJGVbFbjAqtpvICa3zXBFf0u_ScldC2m2Qc-LkSRw-Y-1.jpeg?fit=1159%2C747&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Hy5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":216133,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=216133","url_meta":{"origin":405733,"position":0},"title":"Mystery Solved: Unreliable Wind & Solar Primary Reason for Rocketing Power Prices","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/08\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"That heavily subsidised and chaotically intermittent wind and solar are driving power prices into orbit has been proved beyond all reasonable doubt.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0DxT5ZZC7l0hBYw7PVkHtmoKye_N5xj8esGmQKcxar2E.webp?fit=1052%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0DxT5ZZC7l0hBYw7PVkHtmoKye_N5xj8esGmQKcxar2E.webp?fit=1052%2C518&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0DxT5ZZC7l0hBYw7PVkHtmoKye_N5xj8esGmQKcxar2E.webp?fit=1052%2C518&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0DxT5ZZC7l0hBYw7PVkHtmoKye_N5xj8esGmQKcxar2E.webp?fit=1052%2C518&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0DxT5ZZC7l0hBYw7PVkHtmoKye_N5xj8esGmQKcxar2E.webp?fit=1052%2C518&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":423689,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423689","url_meta":{"origin":405733,"position":1},"title":"Bj\u00f8rn Lomborg is Wrong to Say Climate Change is a Problem to be Solved","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In a commentary article in the Financial Post on Tuesday, Bj\u00f8rn Lomborg argues that Net Zero is \u201con its way out\u201d, as politicians across the world face up to the high cost and tiny climate returns of raising energy prices. With voters \u201cweary of soaring energy bills and annoyed by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":425139,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=425139","url_meta":{"origin":405733,"position":2},"title":"Bjorn Lomborg: The USA Should Keep Funding the IPCC","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Apparently, the IPCC is the main bulwark *against* climate alarmism?","rel":"","context":"In \"activist scientists\"","block_context":{"text":"activist scientists","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=activist-scientists"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/00Screenshot-2026-02-07-203228.png?fit=1200%2C651&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/00Screenshot-2026-02-07-203228.png?fit=1200%2C651&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/00Screenshot-2026-02-07-203228.png?fit=1200%2C651&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/00Screenshot-2026-02-07-203228.png?fit=1200%2C651&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/00Screenshot-2026-02-07-203228.png?fit=1200%2C651&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":212993,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=212993","url_meta":{"origin":405733,"position":3},"title":"Renewables Rejected: World\u2019s Poorest Crave Reliable & Affordable Coal-Fired Power","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/08\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"While the wealthy G7 countries admonish the world\u2019s poor to use only renewables because of climate concerns, Europe and the US are going begging to Arab nations to expand oil production. Germany is reopening coal power plants while Spain and Italy are ramping up African gas production. So many European\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0ecc0d551f8a7f8d18d984472d4ab8816.jpg?fit=1200%2C596&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0ecc0d551f8a7f8d18d984472d4ab8816.jpg?fit=1200%2C596&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0ecc0d551f8a7f8d18d984472d4ab8816.jpg?fit=1200%2C596&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0ecc0d551f8a7f8d18d984472d4ab8816.jpg?fit=1200%2C596&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0ecc0d551f8a7f8d18d984472d4ab8816.jpg?fit=1200%2C596&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":210955,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=210955","url_meta":{"origin":405733,"position":4},"title":"Bjorn Lomborg on Sri Lanka, via Twitter","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/07\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"How odd https:\/\/twitter.com\/BjornLomborg\/status\/1546438031837626369?s=20&t=qNBLedK_itUToGSVU8dRrw Originally tweeted by Bjorn Lomborg (@BjornLomborg) on\u00a0July 19, 2022. Long BBC story about Sri Lanka and tea and not \ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddfb\ud835\uddf2 mention that the catastrophe was because the President decided to have Sri Lanka go organic on April 27, 2021 Almost as if this is not politically correct\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-371.png?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-371.png?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-371.png?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-371.png?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":208423,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=208423","url_meta":{"origin":405733,"position":5},"title":"BJORN LOMBORG: Going organic might be fashionably green, but it won\u2019t feed the world","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/07\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lomborg writes in BusinessDay A global food crisis is looming, so policymakers everywhere need to think hard about how to make food cheaper and more plentiful. That requires making a commitment to producing more fertiliser and better seeds, maximising the potential offered by genetic modification, and abandoning the rich world\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-92.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-92.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-92.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/image-92.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=405733"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":405742,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405733\/revisions\/405742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/405740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=405733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=405733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=405733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}