…requires energy, which today is still most efficiently and affordably provided by fossil fuels. Yet Mr. Kerry recently cautioned African leaders against investing in long-term natural gas production, as if they have an alternative if they want to develop.
This is an indulgence in a place like California, which is affluent enough to pay twice what its neighboring states do for energy. [Emphasis mine.]
…it amounts to condemning countries in Africa and much of the developing world to more decades of poverty.
Kerry may even be consigning poor countries to needless hunger from rising prices and perhaps a global shortage of natural gas for fertilizer. Climate monomania is easier to preach with a sea-side view from a bluff in Martha’s Vineyard than it is from a village with unreliable electricity in the Congo.
As the world is painfully learning, the technology doesn’t exist for a rapid transition to a world without fossil fuels. [Emphasis mine.]
Due to the timing, the fact that three separate pipelines were affected1, and the severe pressure losses in Nord Stream 1, officials expect the worst. “We can no longer imagine any scenario other than a targeted attack,” said a person privy to the assessment by the federal government and federal authorities. They added: “Everything speaks against a coincidence.”
Such an attack on the seabed would be anything but trivial; it would have to be carried out with special forces – for example, by navy divers or a submarine, people informed of initial assessments said.
With regard to responsibility for the alleged attacks, two possibilities are being discussed. First, according to initial speculation, Ukrainian or Ukrainian-affiliated forces could be responsible. With the temporary shutdown of the Nord Stream pipelines, gas deliveries from Russia to Germany and Central Europe would only be possible via the Yamal pipelinje running through Poland or the Ukrainian pipeline network.
Apparent Sabotage Disables Nord Stream 1 and 2, Cutting Off All Direct Gas Supply to Germany from Russia
Yesterday evening, pressure in the undersea Nord Stream 2 pipeline suddenly collapsed, and gas could be seen bubbling to the surface of the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm. Shortly afterwards, reports came of a total collapse in the pressure of our other major undersea pipeline connection to Russia, Nord Stream 1, indicating a further rupture.
Government officials assume that the damage is intentional, and the result of an attack by foreign forces:
This really happened. There is more methane bubbling up in the Baltic Sea than was released by all the farting cows in the history of the world combined.Listen all-yall it's a sabotage.
…As the Continent scrambles to avert a full-scale energy crisis, efforts to stay warm are set to drive up air pollution levels as people turn to coal, wood and even trash to heat their homes.
…Although the highly polluting fuel has earned pariah status as the EU looks to slash emissions, consumption is on the rise as a number of countries, including Austria and the Netherlands, either switch old coal-fired plants back on or boost existing capacity to save on gas.
The problem is that the EU will soon be deprived of its biggest supplier: The bloc slapped sanctions on Russian coal in April, forbidding further imports starting August 10.
…That means the 2 million tons of coal it is set to receive from Russia this month [JUL] will be the last such shipment, said Alex Thackrah, a senior coal analyst at the market intelligence firm Argus Media.
…Indonesia, South Africa and Colombia are all potential suppliers, but EU countries will face “extremely high prices” due to the particularly high-calorific type of coal normally used across the bloc, according to Thackrah. Coal prices on the API2 Rotterdam hub, a European benchmark, hit $380 per ton last week**, already a more than fourfold increase on this time last year.
The EU will also face “stiff competition” from players such as India and South Korea, which have existing coal supply agreements with many of these countries, said Mark Nugent, an analyst at the shipbroker Braemar.
Logistical issues risk complicating matters further.
Much of the EU’s coal — which arrives via ports in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp — travels along the Rhine river by barge. Uncharacteristically high temperatures this month have lowered the river’s water levels to 65 centimeters, reducing how much cargo barges can carry by two-thirds, said Thackrah.