@
MAW
Despite the growth in renewables over past 20 years oil, coal and gas combined have continued to grow in terms of worldwide consumption.
So despite the efforts of many to move towards net zero by any year people care to select, the global position is not improving. Page 10 of this report demonstrates that.
Statistical Review of World Energy 2022 (bp.com)
But our current energy prices have nothing to do with the switch to green energy and everything to do with Putins invasion of Ukraine and the consequences flowing from that. The world though is reacting and future prices are moderating.
Nevertheless I believe that the task is much harder than the politicians think or dare tell us. In my domestic terms half of my electricity is generated from gas. That alone will be very difficult to replace with low carbon generation. But my home heating is 5 times my electricity consumption and even a heat pump solution will require more than treble my existing electricity consumption, so even more greenish generating capacity nationally will be required. I personally think that fracking in the UK is viable and sensible, but hysterical opposition has currently won the day over science, engineering and logic. The opposition needed to prevent the technology being demonstrated because it would then become proven that it was safe and viable.
But generating capacity is always being replaced and new capacity can be brought onstream given time. The availability of world mining resources is such that I don't see at as any sort of limiting factor.
I agree we need to frack. Oil and Coal consumption has increased but only because India and China particularly have developed their economies on the basis of cheap energy. Why do you think we have given them basically all our heavy mass manufacturing? Because they can outcompete us not just on the cost of labour but massively on the cost of energy.
Re. Putin and energy prices. It is not about Putin. Its about the lies we have been told by our leaders about us reducing our CO2 emissions. We never did, all that was done was mass offshoring of energy production and high consumption manufacturing and heavy industry which we rely on. You think China could produce most of the worlds iPhones, Iron, steel etc if it relied on costly windmills and farms? LOL. No, its cheap coal they use. They might have lots of "sustainable" electricity generation but its only a teeny tiny fraction of what they need.
You might like to focus on the immediate situation in Ukraine as the cause of high energy prices, and the Corporate Government of the West would very much like us all to think that as well. But its not true. Russian oil and coal is being exported in large quantities to over 2/3 of the world with no problem whatsoever. The worlds oil supply has hardly been affected. The gas supply to Europe has definitely been affected but I would rather focus on the lies and stupidity of those in charge here for the last 20 years. Its their fault we cant cope with what Putin is doing.
From another angle, the energy supply propaganda about Putin and Ukraine is being used to further even more wailing about "sustainable" energy production. Quite incredible, but these are the same people who got us inti this mess.
