Fossil fuels versus renewables as global temperatures plummet

The ‘climate change is your fault’ crowd have gone into damage limitation mode as temperatures sink to unexpected (by them) lows. This ‘op-ed’ does a fair job of summarising the cold weather, but then drifts off into a woolly propaganda-based ‘discussion’.
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This week debates have heated up about the world’s shift away from fossil fuels, as frigid temperatures have wreaked havoc from Turkey to Texas, says PEI.

Let’s start in the USA. It’s the first time in 17 years that such a large portion of the US has been covered with snow and rolling blackouts have meant many have been without power, exposed to freezing temperatures.

Utilities are struggling to keep the power on as wind turbines have frozen and natural gas flow was impeded from frozen pipes.

According to USA Today: “In Texas, more than 1.6 million homes and businesses remained without power late Wednesday night, and some also lost water service”.

As is the case in many emergency situations, folks are looking for someone or something to blame. This time, the focus is on failing renewables – like the frozen turbines – with people questioning the shift from coal and natural gas, viewing it as unwise and risking baseload reliability.

Mayor defends coal mine after ex-NASA scientist’s criticism

An artist’s impression of the proposed Woodhouse Colliery (Credit: West Cumbria Mining)

Another Green dreamer forgot that producing wind turbines means using lots of steel, forged in fiery furnaces. That won’t change any time soon.
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THE mayor of Copeland has hit out after a former NASA scientist criticised plans to build a new coal mine in West Cumbria, reports the Whitehaven News.

In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leading climate scientist Dr James Hansen said that failure to stop the mine from going ahead at Whitehaven would be in “contemptuous disregard” for the future of young people and nature.

But mayor Mike Starkie called Dr Hansen’s views “completely irrelevant.”

Boris Johnson mocks ‘tree-hugging, mung bean-munching eco-freaks’ at UN climate summit

Photosynthesis: nature requires carbon dioxide

All the while sounding like an eco-freak himself, who thinks carbon dioxide is a ‘toxic’ gas? Ask a scientist.
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Boris Johnson has said he is not a “mung-bean munching eco freak”, but instead supports green policies because they are “right for the world”, reports I-news.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the 2020 Climate Ambition Summit, which is marking the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The UK has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 68 per cent on 1990s levels by 2030, and Mr Johnson highlighted that the UK had earmarked £11.6 billion in overseas aid to support green technology and decarbonisation across the planet.

New coal mine in west Cumbria given green light

An artist’s impression of Woodhouse Colliery (Credit: West Cumbria Mining)

The usual tedious complaints from climate miserablists ignore the fact that the UK already imports coal from several countries, and steel-making depends on it.
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Cumbria County Council has approved an application to create a new coal mine off the county’s coast, reports ITV News.

Members of the authority’s Development, Control and Regulation Committee considered a revised application from developers West Cumbria Mining today.

Of the councillors in attendance 12 voted in favour of the application, three against and there were two abstentions.

The project, planned for a site near Whitehaven and will be the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years.

Brussels shoots down Dutch plan to subsidize hydrogen to replace fossil fuels

Irrational fear of a minor trace gas in the atmosphere, largely based on the output of failing climate models, continues to disrupt national energy policies. EU leaders add to the chaos and confusion.

The European Commission turned down Dutch plans to support hydrogen production with subsidies, reports the NL Times.

The government of the Netherlands wants to use hydrogen instead of other fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but because the Dutch plans got shot down, this will not be continued, Climate Minister Eric Wiebes told the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, on Monday, according to FD.

The government saw possibilities to replace oil, natural gas and coal by hydrogen, especially within heavy industry.

Germany’s new Datteln 4 coal power plant opens amid protests

German coal: back to the future
[image credit: BBC]

Germany is shutting all its nuclear plants by 2022 and has to get its baseload electrical power from somewhere. Erratic renewables can never fill that role. If they tried such a so-called climate protest in China, they could expect a reward of a free ride to a place of detention, or maybe something more vigorous.
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Germany has pledged to phase out coal production by 2038, says DW.com.

Protesters think the new Datteln 4 coal power plant in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia should not have been fired up.

Around 500 climate activists on Saturday gathered outside the new Datteln 4 coal power plant in Germany’s Ruhr region, to protest against its opening.

Investors blast EU’s omission of oil and gas from a definition of fossil fuels

Is this a COVID-19 effect? Economic recovery with oil and gas demonised might be even more difficult than necessary, but cries of ‘energy sources incompatible with Paris goals’ can be heard from climate fearmongers.

Investors, politicians and campaigners have hit out at EU regulators’ “ludicrous” exclusion of oil and gas from a definition of fossil fuels, arguing it will lead asset managers to understate their environmental risks, reports The Conservative Investor Daily.

Under draft proposals for the EU’s sustainable disclosure regime, the European authorities responsible for banking, insurance and securities markets define fossil fuels as only applying to “solid” energy sources such as coal and lignite.

This means asset managers and other financial groups would have to follow tougher disclosure requirements for holdings in coal producers than for oil and gas company exposure.

Australia fires: PM rejects ‘reckless’ calls to limit coal industry

Lots of coal in Australia

Evidence that at least one national leader understands that winding down the economy to impress shouty ‘activists’ is not a sensible policy, despite the current emergencies.

Australian PM Scott Morrison says he will not make “reckless” cuts to the nation’s coal industry, despite criticism of his response to climate change and a deadly bushfire crisis.

Australia is being ravaged by bushfires which have killed nine people and razed hundreds of homes since September, reports BBC News.

As the crisis escalated last week, Mr Morrison faced a backlash for deciding to take a family holiday to Hawaii.

On Monday, he reiterated he would not adjust his policies through “panic”.

Coal demand to remain stable amid climate concerns: IEA

Credit: Coal India Limited

As the COP 25 summit ends in disarray, all attempts to stoke up fears of a man-made ‘climate crisis’ are not going well, in some parts of the world at least. Hard to see developing countries turning away from reliable and affordable energy any time soon.

The demand for coal will remain steady over the next four years due to demand from Asia, which comes despite fears of the climate crisis, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Tuesday.

Coastal areas across Southeast Asia have already seen major floods and seawater incursion linked to climate change, claims Phys.org.

“Global coal demand has rebounded since 2017,” the IEA said in a report.

Claim: fossil fuel divestment will increase CO2 emissions, not lower them

So what, you may say. But it shows up some of the woolly thinking of so-called climate activists. Lacking viable alternatives, the major role of fossil fuels in the global economy is bound to continue so suppliers will have their market. Believing that trace gases can somehow disturb the climate in a negative way isn’t going to change that.

A global campaign encouraging individuals, organizations and institutional investors to sell off investments in fossil fuel companies is gathering pace. According to 350.org, US$11 trillion has already been divested worldwide.

But, while it may seem a logical strategy, divestment will not lower demand for fossil fuels, which is the key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, it may even cause emissions to rise, argues The Conversation @ Phys.org.

Paris accord pie-in-the-sky ‘climate targets’ undermined by reality

Coal-hungry China [image credit: democraticunderground.com]

Hard to say which is the greater fantasy: the belief in human-caused climate change due to trace gases, or the prescribed attempts to ‘tackle’ the imagined problem. Demand for energy is rising worldwide, meaning attempts to restrict its supply look doomed. One analyst says: “Despite more than two decades of climate policy making, fossil fuel production levels are higher than ever.”

There’s a huge gulf between ambition and reality, reports DW.com.

The world is on track to produce far more fossil fuels than permissible to meet its target of limiting global warming to at most 2 degrees Celsius, and ideally 1.5 degrees C.

That’s the conclusion of the Production Gap Report, created from leading research institutions together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Prof. Ian Plimer: Earth is ‘not in a period of extinction’

‘Belief is in politics and religion, not science…follow the money’, says Professor Plimer.

Geologist and earth scientist Ian Plimer says the globe is not facing a climate emergency, telling Sky News Australia that “we are actually still living in an ice age.”

Professor Plimer’s comments come after Extinction Rebellion protesters have been calling on the government to declare a climate emergency – something the scientist said isn’t necessary.

“We live in horribly boring times,” he said.

A Call To Arms: Can This World Survive Without Fossil Fuels?

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One for the climate hotheads (and others) to ponder: ‘From one 42-gallon barrel of oil only about half is for fuels while the rest is used to manufacture the chemicals and by-products that are part of our daily lifestyles.’

PA Pundits - International

By Ronald Stein ~

“God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the Courage to change the things I can change; and the Wisdom to know the difference.”

The afore-quoted Serenity Prayer came to mind while I was writing this because it seems applicable to the world’s citizens who are trying to attain the leadership roles in the save the environment movement before understanding the complexities of the energy picture depicted in the book Energy Made Easy and the advantages energy as a whole has provided humanity for the last couple of centuries.

Because developed countries have accomplished much in the last few centuries, they have a responsibility as caretakers for the only planet we live on right now. Understandably, it’s hard to imagine the billions of people in underdeveloped countries who have yet to experience anything like the industrial revolution and who are surviving without…

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The Green Paradox: Why Europe’s climate policies increase global CO2 emissions

German coal operation

H/T The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)

Government attempts to interfere in power generation markets can and do have unintended consequences, including undermining their own intentions. The expert interviewed here says ‘eight times as many wind and solar power plants as today’ would be needed in Germany by 2050, to meet policy targets. Many of the obstacles that lie in the way also apply to other countries that want to pursue the ‘CO2 controls climate’ delusion.

German economist Johannes Bachmann explains the so-called ‘Green Paradox’ — when unilateral climate policies accelerate the worldwide extraction of fossil fuels and global CO2 emissions.
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Yesterday, 20 September, the so-called “Climate Cabinet” of Germany’s federal government met to set the course of German climate policy for the coming years. Christoph Kramer spoke with Johannes Bachmann about the so-called Green Paradox and the economic concepts that fuel it.

Dr Bachmann is an economist and a member of the Hayek Society. Two years ago he received his doctorate from Michael Bräuninger, a Hamburg economist and former research director of the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI). In his dissertation Bachmann dealt with the effect of climate policy measures on CO2 emissions.

Christoph Kramer: Mr. Bachmann, if one looks into your dissertation as a layman it’s all Greek to me. Could you please briefly explain exactly what the thesis is about and what methodology you used?

Johannes Bachmann: I can well understand that. On the one hand, there are quite a few technical terms in the work, and on the other, there are many formulas. It is a typical dissertation: a work by an academic for academics.

The aim of the thesis was to examine the effects of climate policy measures on the supply side of fossil fuels. To this end, I calculated how owners of raw materials adjust their production quotas as a result of CO2 taxes or subsidies for renewable energies in order to continue generating as much revenue as possible. Why did I focus on the supply side of all things? The answer is: the quantity of fossil fuels that is extracted from the earth is also consumed.

The Dutch import story behind Britain’s no-coal record

Dutch coal power plant

So Britain’s recent ‘coal free’ spell of electricity generation turns out to be somewhat fake news. The exaggerated claims made for renewables – mostly wind power – in this period are therefore largely undermined.

Between May 17-31, Britain saw its first two-week period without domestic coal-fired power stations generating electricity since the 1880s, says PEI.

However, modelling carried out by energy market data analyst EnAppSys shows that power generated from coal has been imported from abroad over the same period – with the most coming from the Netherlands.

Big Green, Inc. : The money fuelling the environmental left

H/T The GWPF.
A database listing $4.2 billion worth of grants represents a small fraction of the total financial investment and is just the tip of the iceberg, says the Institute for Energy Research.

Today’s environmental movement is fueled by a group of interconnected, left-leaning foundations that are seeking to disrupt the development of America’s energy resources.

In order to understand how these groups work together and where the environmental movement’s funding originates, IER developed Big Green, Inc., a database that tracks environmental grants stemming from 14 foundations and directed to over 1,900 grassroots activists groups and totaling more than $4.2 billion.

Our key findings include:

U.S. energy use rises to highest level ever

In terms of original power sources (i.e. not electricity), the runaway leaders were petroleum and natural gas which between them took over two-thirds of the total share. Coal and nuclear were a distant third and fourth. Best of the rest was biomass at just over 5% of the total, easily more than wind and solar combined.

Americans used more energy in 2018 than in any other year, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

Overall total energy consumption rose to 101.2 quadrillion BTU (or “quads”), reports TechXplore. The prior record, set in 2007, was 101.0 quads.

Energy use went up by 3.6 percent from 2017, which also is the largest annual increase since 2010.

‘Extraordinary increase’ in global energy demand

US coal train [credit: Wikipedia]

In the real world, concerted attempts to instil fear of a supposed man-made climate ’emergency’ seem to be having little effect on the popularity of large-scale fuel-burning.

Energy demand worldwide grew by 2.3 per cent last year – its fastest pace this decade, reports PEI.

And nearly 70 per cent of that demand growth came from China, the US and India.

Approval for £175m Cumbria coal mine

An artist’s impression of Woodhouse Colliery (Credit: West Cumbria Mining)

The ‘new-found energy realism of Cumbrian councillors’ has been praised by the GWPF and others, but has predictably dismayed hardline climate miserablists..

Cumbria County Council has backed plans for a £175m metallurgical coal mine on a brownfield site near Whitehaven with work set to get under way by the end of the year, reports Place North West.

The plans by West Cumbria Mining cover mineral extraction over 50 years over a 689-acre site running to and beyond the St Bees coast, along with associated development such as the refurbishment of two existing drifts leading to two new underground drifts; coal storage and processing buildings; office and change building, an access road, ventilation, power and water infrastructure and landscaping.

Australian court rejects coal mine on climate grounds

Lots of coal in Australia

Are some judges being tempted into overstepping their roles in cases like this? If they are ‘calling climate scientists to testify’ as the report says, which climate scientists get invited? The ruling could yet be appealed.

An Australian court on Friday delivered a landmark ruling by rejecting plans to build a coal mine on the grounds it would worsen climate change, reports Phys.org.

Chief Justice Brian Preston said a planned open cut coal mine in a scenic part of New South Wales state would be in “the wrong place at the wrong time”.