The heat wave in Ukraine and the war in Russia packed a brutal double punch, disrupted the world’s energy markets, and desperately struggled to secure electricity for some of the world’s largest economies. I’m driving into.
This week, Europe was in a nasty feedback loop as record temperatures not only surged electricity demand, but extreme heat made it difficult to cool reactors, forcing nuclear power plants to shut down in the region. I fell into it.
France detailed on Tuesday plans to re-nationalize its power company, EDF, to strengthen the country’s energy independence by renewing its fleet of dilapidated nuclear power plants. Russia, which has supplied much of Europe’s natural gas for decades, has continued to make Europe speculate on whether to resume gas flow later this week through major pipelines. Germany has urged the European Union to approve cheaper loans for new gas projects, which could extend its reliance on fossil fuels for decades longer.
The chain of effects of war and the coronavirus pandemic on energy and food prices has punished the poorest citizens in the world the most. In Africa, 25 million people now live without electricity compared to before the pandemic. International Energy Agency estimates..
Meanwhile, in the United States, the largest greenhouse gas emission country in history, extreme temperatures have burned the south and west belts as the country’s climate law outlook collapsed in the capital. At the same time, oil companies around the world reported a surge in profits as oil and gas prices soared.
In effect, the world’s ability to delay climate change is not only undermined by the highly fossil fuel producers that cause climate change, but is further challenged by the deadly heat, a clear marker of climate change. I am.
At a world conference aimed at reviving climate change measures in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Annarena Bearbock called climate change the “biggest security challenge” facing the world and turned to renewable energy. He urged countries to use the Russian war as a driving force for a quicker switch. “Today, fossil energy is a sign of addiction and lack of freedom,” she said on Tuesday. Germany relies on Russian pipe gas for 35% of its energy demand.
At the same meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it more frankly. “We continue to feed our fossil fuel addiction,” he said.
The Congress of Berlin was held against the backdrop of the harsh moments of global climate change.
Without Washington’s climate law, it would be nearly impossible for the United States to reach its national climate goals, nor could it put diplomatic pressure on China to slow its emissions growth.
European shift from fossil fuels
The European Union has begun the transition to a more environmentally friendly form of energy. However, financial and geopolitical considerations can complicate efforts.
China currently produces the world’s largest share of greenhouse gases and plays a vital role in the future of the global climate. It currently burns more coal than any other country, but it also creates the largest share of the world’s new greens. Technologies such as solar panels and electric buses.
A big question mark has emerged as to whether European Union lawmakers will use the invasion of Ukraine to accelerate their departure from fossil fuels or simply import gas from locations other than Russia.
The stake is high. EU-specific climate legislation requires blocks in 27 countries to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030.detail Coal-fired power plant will be closed There is no evidence that Europe is forever returning to coal, more than ever, and despite some countries resuming operations at coal-fired power plants to meet imminent energy demand. Read the title of the report released last week that “coal has not revived” embers, Research group.
EU lawmakers are also encouraging building owners to renovate old homes and businesses to improve energy efficiency. Also, under EU law, no new internal combustion engine vehicles will be sold after 2035.
If anything, analysts say they are paying attention to the current crisis not to happen sooner. Hannah Fekete, a climate policy analyst at the New Climate Institute, an organization that drives Cologne’s commitment to climate change, said: “We missed so many opportunities for energy efficiency.”
The greatest impact of the global energy crisis lies in the world’s ability to delay climate change. Combustion of fossil fuels is a major cause of global warming. Greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere trap the heat of the sun, raising the world’s average temperature and promoting extreme meteorological phenomena, including record heat.
Emerging economies are pressured to do so because rich industrialized countries like the United States and Europe do not want to move away from fossil fuels. After all, they are blaming the generation of greenhouse gas emissions that are destroying the climate today and disproportionately harming the poor, not in the poor, but in the rich of the world. Claims to be.
That was made clear at this week’s Congress of Berlin by South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy. “Developed countries must remain in control with ambitious action,” she said. “The ultimate measure of climate leadership is not what each country does when it comes to comfort and convenience, but what it does when it comes to challenges and controversies.”
Developed countries have not yet provided the promised $ 100 billion annually to help poor countries shift their focus to renewable energy. Many already in debt countries are deeply in debt as they try to recover from extreme weather events that have been exacerbated by climate change.
Russia, one of the world’s largest producers of oil and gas, invaded Ukraine when energy prices were already rising.
At the end of last year, US oil and gas production plummeted at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and did not recover, leading to soaring and rising oil and gas prices.
Russia began limiting supply to Europe as early as September last year, helping to raise Europe’s electricity prices to the highest level in more than a decade. At the same time, European gas demand recovered as the economy recovered as wind power fell due to pandemic shutdowns and warm weather.
In February, Russian President Vladimirputin invaded Ukraine, and Russia further reduced the flow of gas to European customers, starting with Bulgaria and Poland in April. Germany is waiting for Gazprom, the state-owned Russian energy giant, to resume flow through the pipeline connecting the Siberian gas fields and the German coast, so it may be: I’m worried about it. The annual maintenance period is only 10 days, so it was shut down on July 11.
Several European countries are currently competing to fill their gas storage tanks in time to warm their homes in the winter and get enough energy to run their industries. EU officials are concerned that if Russia does not resume gas flow, the block will not reach its mandatory target of 80% of capacity by early November.
“The world has never witnessed such a major energy crisis in terms of its depth and complexity,” said the director of the International Energy Agency. Fatih BirolSaid last week.