Thank you for your interest in the critical issues of energy and climate. Modern, comfortable lives depend on energy. Without it, prosperity is impossible. Abundant, affordable, and reliable energy is essential for human flourishing. Unfortunately, many climate policies increase energy costs, reduce availability, and undermine reliability.
Fact of the day:
China gets the vast majority of its energy from fossil fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas. They use more than half of the 8.7 billion tons of coal each year. They are building 100s of coal plants that last 50 years or longer. Last year, they added more electricity generation than the entire electric grid of the US.
The media tells us they are leaders in “green” energy. That they are adding wind and solar at a rapid pace. Not as much as they are adding coal energy. We are being sold a false narrative. Why?
EU Carbon Price Under Fire: Leaders and Industry Demand ETS Reforms
EU Carbon Price Under Fire: Leaders and Industry Demand ETS Reforms
Original article: The week the EU’s climate foundations started to shake
Five Key Bullet Points
- EU leaders and industry at summits in Antwerp and Alden-Biesen criticized high carbon prices under the Emissions Trading System (ETS), calling for reforms to reduce costs amid economic pressures.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested revising the ETS and postponing elements, later backtracking to call it the right tool needing adjustments, while leaders from Austria, Czech Republic, and Poland pushed for weakening it.
- The ETS, regulating half of EU emissions since 2005 through market-based permits, faced backlash as rising prices from €10 to €80 were seen as driving industry out and harming competitiveness.
- Carbon prices plunged from €81 to below €72 after the summits, causing market losses and stock declines for companies like Heidelberg Materials and Ørsted, eroding confidence in the system’s stability.
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The European Commission plans ETS revisions after the summer, including governance rules and targets, amid warnings that attacks signal a campaign to lower ambitions in the EU Green Deal.
The Failure of Net Zero: Renewables Unable to Power Global Growth and AI
Original article: Climate Change and Energy: World Leaders in Turmoil
Five Key Bullet Points
- World leaders and organizations, including the UN, WEF, and IEA, have pushed for a shift from hydrocarbon fuels to wind and solar and net zero policies for 30 years, enacting thousands of laws, but green energy fails to meet the energy demands of growing, developing nations and the AI revolution in advanced nations.
- No evidence shows that UN COP meetings or over $10 trillion spent on wind and solar have affected the climate, as atmospheric CO2 concentrations have risen over 50 years without trend changes.
- Coal remains dominant, providing 34% of world electricity in 2024 with over 6,500 plants operating and more under construction, while coal consumption hit an all-time high despite calls to end it. More than 700 million people still lack electricity access.
- The AI boom drives massive electricity needs, with companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft investing over $380 billion in AI infrastructure, leading to reliance on natural gas and nuclear power rather than intermittent renewables, as emissions rise, such as Google’s 48% increase.
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A great reversal occurs as conservative backlash, US policy shifts under Trump (withdrawing from Paris Agreement and UNFCCC), and withdrawals by firms from net zero alliances collapse ESG and climate efforts globally, with leaders like Bill Gates criticizing overemphasis on emissions.
Wind Power Dependency: China’s Gain, America’s Environmental and Economic Loss
Original article: How China Sold America the Wind Turbine SCAM
Five Key Bullet Points
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Wind energy is promoted as a solution for climate change, rebuilding American manufacturing, and strengthening national security, but this narrative originates from international institutions, corporate lobbying, and foreign governments, particularly benefiting China.
- China dominates the wind-turbine supply chain with over 70% control and more than 80% of rare-earth materials, achieved through state subsidies, centralized financing, low-cost coal power, undercutting competitors, making the U.S. dependent on a foreign rival for energy.
- While the U.S. has closed over 300 coal plants since 2010, China has expanded coal use significantly, adding plants weekly to power turbine factories, resulting in global emissions rising as emissions shift abroad despite U.S. reductions.
- UN IPCC climate reports are edited by government officials, turning science into political messaging, and public discourse relies on non-experts, prioritizing narrative over evidence-based debate.
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U.S. wind turbines operate at 32-35% capacity factor, increase grid costs and electricity prices in states like California and New York, kill 500,000-700,000 birds annually, and provide no net CO2 benefits, while China gains industrial power and influence. And Americans pay more for less reliable electricity.
Foreign Cash to U.S. Climate Networks Sparks FARA Violation Allegations
Original Article: Billions in foreign cash tied to US climate network draws scrutiny from Republican AGs
Five Key Bullet Points
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Nineteen Republican attorneys general have requested the Department of Justice to investigate over 150 U.S.-based nonprofits for potential violations of federal foreign agent laws.
- The nonprofits received nearly $2 billion in funding over the past decade from five foreign-based climate foundations: Oak Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation, KR Foundation, and Laudes Foundation.
- The funding has been used to influence U.S. energy policies through advocacy, litigation, research, protests, and lobbying without registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
- The attorneys general allege these activities undermine American energy independence and advance a foreign activist agenda, with one foundation having documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
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The letter, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, argues the foreign foundations qualify as foreign principals under FARA, and no exemptions appear to apply.
Climate Activists Awakening: Exposing the False Fear-Driven Narrative
Original Article: Former Climate Activists Now Rejecting the Narrative
Five Key Bullet Points
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Lucy Biggers, a former prominent climate activist who interviewed figures like Greta Thunberg and pushed for the Green New Deal, rejected the climate narrative after noticing contradictions. Such as pipelines being safer than trains, and plastic having a lower carbon footprint than alternatives, and realizing it was driven by fear and cult-like behavior.
- Biggers began questioning the movement during COVID, observing minimal emission reductions despite global shutdowns, and explored books like Michael Shellenberger’s Apocalypse Never and Steven Coonan’s Unsettled, concluding that warming since the Little Ice Age has coincided with human flourishing, and increased CO2 has led to global greening, better plant growth, and higher crop yields.
- She is not alone; former activists like Dr. Judith Curry and Tom Harris reversed their positions due to flawed climate models. Curry criticizes the manufactured consensus, and Harris calls the narrative a hoax. Alongside data flaws in 96% of climate justification studies, as shown by The Heartland Institute.
- Other skeptics include Dr. Patrick Moore, a Greenpeace co-founder, who argues the agenda is driven by fear, guilt, and elite interests for wealth redistribution, subsidies, and political gain. While failed predictions like those from the IPCC and Climategate scandals reveal data manipulation.
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Over 2000 scientists, including Nobel laureates, signed a declaration stating that no climate emergency exists. They point out CO2’s minimal role compared to ocean currents and solar activity. They have concerns about youth mental health and loss of hope from apocalyptic teachings. They emphasize prosperity with a warming earth.
