Headlines!

A year of much ado in the energy space is drawing to a close and despite my best efforts I remain unable to capture, chew and spit out all crazy or simply entertaining developments. So, for a change, this Friday I’ve compiled a list of headlines with accompanying quotes, to which I’ll add short comments. Something tells me this may be part one of many.

What is the future of sustainability?

Our climate is warming at a concerning pace, and if we don’t take action, the situation will only worsen. But the global energy transition is entering a new phase of acceleration toward meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

A classic from McKinsey checking all the boxes: talking points, bad semantics, call to action and a sliver of hope. It should be interpreted in exactly the opposite of the stated way.

Britain should not gamble with its car industry again

It is clearly necessary to facilitate the EV transition, given that transport is responsible for a quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions. Carmakers are already investing billions in new EV models and retooling factories to achieve it. But it is reckless to attempt to outpace the EU when the industry remains entwined with the European market, despite the rupture of Brexit.

In order of statements: false, true but insignificant, true and disastrous, and true. Not that it matters, since Labour is on a suicide mission.

COP29 agrees deal to kick-start global carbon credit trading

Countries agreed a deal at the COP29 climate conference on Saturday on rules for a global market to buy and sell carbon credits that proponents say will mobilise billions of dollars into new projects to help fight global warming.

Because the current carbon credit market we already have is working so well with no space for abuse at all, yes.

Countries could use nature to ‘cheat’ on net zero targets, scientists warn

By relying on natural carbon sinks such as forests and peatlands to offset emissions, governments can appear closer to goals than they actually are.

I have an idea: destroy natural carbon sinks and cover the land with panels and turbines to prevent cheating.

Northvolt crisis may be make or break for Europe's EV battery ambitions

Northvolt's financial collapse deals a blow to Europe's plan to set up its own battery industry to power electric cars, stirring a debate about whether it needs to do more to attract investment as startups struggle to catch up with Chinese rivals.

“A debate” is one way of putting it, I suppose. A more accurate way, however, would be to just call time of death on the whole own-supply-chain thing before it really starts stinking.

Europe Is Already Facing Its Next Energy Crisis

Rapidly depleting gas reserves and looming supply cuts from Moscow have the makings of a fresh energy crisis for Europe, which is still reeling from extreme shocks two years ago.

Yes, but with all the new wind and solar that’s going to get built it will all be all right and Europe will become self-sufficient and totally independent in energy in about five years.

Surprise Solar Boom in Pakistan Helps Millions, But Harms Grid

This breakneck solarization has several benefits. It’s brought financial relief to consumers and businesses who can afford the panels, it’s saving the government money on fuel imports, and it will help Pakistan move toward its goal of doubling renewables to make up 60% of the energy mix by the end of the decade. 

But the rapid and unregulated boom also threatens to weaken the country’s utilities and destabilize the fragile economy.

Keep building those panels, Pakistan, don’t worry about the economy and the utilities. Just look at Europe and its double-digit growth numbers.

UN climate summit’s $300bn deal slammed as ‘stage-managed’

The UN COP29 climate summit almost collapsed twice throughout Saturday evening and into the early hours of Sunday morning, as vulnerable nations walked out of negotiations and India objected stridently.

Snowflakes, the lot of these vulnerable nations. Why won’t they sink under rising oceans already so the climate catastrophism narrative gets one bit of fact under its belt.

Canada environment minister warns oil and gas companies against withholding emissions data

Canada's environment minister warned on Wednesday that oil and gas companies would be breaking federal laws if they withheld emissions data, after Alberta's premier said the province was considering measures to block a proposed emissions cap.

If secession was an option the world would be a better, more just place. In the absence of this option, I guess what Alberta oil and gas companies can do is go the “Really? Watch me.” way.

Republican US states sue BlackRock for ‘destructive’ green agenda

BlackRock hit back at the lawsuit, saying, “The suggestion that BlackRock has invested money in companies with the goal of harming those companies is baseless and defies common sense. This lawsuit undermines Texas’s pro-business reputation and discourages investments in the companies consumers rely on.”

It does defy common sense but this has never stopped any asset manager with green beans for brains from doing just that.

Big steelmakers failing to make the switch to renewables, survey shows

The world's biggest steelmakers are falling behind in the shift towards low-carbon production, with some still entirely dependent on fossil fuels for their energy, a survey of 18 leading firms showed on Friday.

They must be doing it on purpose. I mean, how hard is it to switch one of the most energy-intensive industries in the world from coal and gas to wind and solar? It will even be cheaper, as we know. The only explanation is steelmakers just hate low-carbon energy.

UK must curb electricity costs to hit green targets, says climate body chief

“If you can reduce the price of electricity, you can then really make heat pumps and electric vehicles and electrifying industries more attractive,” Forster told the Financial Times.

In other spectacular epiphanies, if you stop trying to break reality into the shape you want, it won’t fight back and you won’t have bruises and lacerations.

EU joint gas-buying effort fails to ignite market

Tool to harness bloc’s buying power led to contracts for just 2% of potential demand, say people with access to data. … In total the platform matched buyers and sellers of gas for 43 billion cubic metres of demand but, according to three people with knowledge of the confidential data, only around 1 bcm of gas was ultimately contracted and reported to the commission.

I have a lot of sympathy for stand-up comedians. They have this to compete with. They’re doomed. But the joke continues because remember how the EU thought the joint gas buying was working so well they wanted to do the same with critical minerals?

Germany's weak winds trigger record surge in gas-fired power

Gas-fired electricity production in Germany jumped by a record 79% in November from the month before as utilities scrambled to offset a second straight month of sharply below-normal output from wind farms.

Wind power output has been 25% below year-prior levels in October and November due to slow wind speeds, depriving power firms of a key electricity source just as winter set in. Wind farms supplied 27% of German utility electricity in 2023.

We are now going to pretend this never happened, insist that the nuclear power plants cannot be reopen because it wouldn’t make economic sense*, and keep spending billions on LNG imports because it’s the right and sane thing to do.

*Yes, that’s exactly what they said.

Shell signals no new offshore wind projects

The UK-based oil major said it planned to keep its offshore wind farms in the Netherlands and would continue to develop its existing pipeline of wind farms in Europe, the US and the UK, but would not seek to lead any new projects.

Translation: we’re stuck with the ones already built but you won’t catch us wasting any more money on the economically and environmentally dumbest form of non-hydrocarbon energy ever invented. And it’s not even non-hydrocarbon, either.

Denmark disappointed after offshore wind tender draws no bids

The Danish Energy Agency said it would start a dialogue with market participants to identify reasons for the lack of bids, adding that a number of companies had expressed interest during the initial market dialogue.

Denmark had in April launched its biggest offshore wind tender to date, offering no subsidies to companies competing for the right to erect turbines on six sites with a combined capacity of up to 10 gigawatts.

Does anyone really need to look for another reason than the one mentioned in the second paragraph? Or are we going to pretend there must be another reason? Yes, that’s exactly what we’re going to do because offshore wind is so perfectly capable of turning in a profit with no subsidies.

Gas price shock set to add to Europe's industrial pain

Europe's struggling industries are bracing for a new gas price shock over the coming winter months, as colder weather depletes stocks, competition with Asia for liquefied natural gas intensifies, and the prospect of reduced Russian supplies looms.

This is such obvious Russian propaganda it doesn’t even deserve a comment but a comment it shall get nevertheless. European industries are not struggling. Gas is not expensive. The EU has everything under control and knows perfectly well what it’s doing. Everything else is misinformation. And climate change.