So, the Green New Deal is actually taking effect around the world. So, we don’t have to guess what would happen if it took effect here. We can know. That’s science. Let’s start with Ghana. Ghana’s a pretty little country, peaceful place, actually, on the west coast of Africa. Three years ago, Ghana was in great shape. It had one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. In fact, it had so much energy over most of the last decade, it was exporting it to its neighbors in West Africa.
Now, those energy exports from Ghana peaked in 2014. Why that year? Well because the next year, the World Bank published this headline on its website, “World Bank approves largest-ever guarantees for Ghana’s Energy Transformation.” Oh, when they promise to transform your energy, slow down. But Ghana didn’t slow down.
They just kept going. The World Bank promised to provide, and we’re quoting, “technical assistance for energy sector reforms and the drafting of a new renewable energy law.” So, in return for all this help, Ghana agreed to limit its carbon emissions, and then they entered the Paris climate agreement. Oh, how virtuous. What happened next? This is the part you don’t read that much about.
Last year, Ghana experienced a complete shutdown of its national power supply. No more electricity, no emissions, because we have no electricity, and blackouts have continued since then. Just yesterday, a news source in Ghana reported that, “Residents in parts of the Ashanti region who have been hit with power cuts are without water as well,” because it turns out you need electricity to provide water also to grow food. Now, this is not a small thing. The Ashanti region has millions of people living in it. They’re all now living in the Stone Age and it’s not just the energy grid that’s now compromised in Ghana.
