Which brings me to the worldwide shortage of energy. There are many pieces to the puzzle and you can’t just blame one situation or one bad actor.
A few of the ones in play — some where climate and fossil fuels interact:
- Yes, the pandemic has put supply and consumption out of whack
- Wind turbines in the North Sea have not had much wind of late (climate)
- China has stopped buying coal from Australia
- Meanwhile, flooding has curtailed coal production (climate) in China
- A new natural gas pipeline from Russia servicing Germany is not operational yet
- Manufacturing is cranking back up and it requires more energy
- China is rationing electricity right now and India will too
- Hurricane Ida (climate) took some gas/oil production offline leading to higher gasoline prices here in the U.S.
Here is a quote from the article I read: “Power plants [in India] have failed to secure coal shipments and are reluctant to buy imports now because of the high price, according to Indian officials who have been urging utilities to purchase what they need. The country’s Central Electricity Authority warned Tuesday that nearly half of India’s coal power plants — 63 out of 135 — have two days or less of coal supplies, while stocks have been exhausted at 17 facilities.” Imagine, if you will, if it is your region where those 17 power plants are not functioning. What would you be doing and saying?
Climate change versus fossil fuels and the need to have electrical power for lights, heat, manufacturing.
