Posted on 03/08/2022 2:21:51 AM PST by Olog-hai
The leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands on Monday said Europe was too dependent on Russian energy supplies to stop imports overnight as part of any eventual sanctions package in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Energy exports are a key source of income for Russia, and there are growing calls for oil and gas embargoes to increase pressure on the Kremlin.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that although Berlin supported tough measures against Moscow, Russian energy supplies remained “essential” for daily life in Europe.
“Europe’s supply with energy for heating, for mobility, power supply and for industry cannot at the moment be secured otherwise,” Scholz said in a statement.
Russia is the largest supplier of natural gas to Germany, currently accounting for 38% of imports, according to government statistics. Gas accounts for around a fifth of German power production.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said cutting dependency on Russian oil and gas was “the right thing to do”; however, it must be done in a “step by step” process.
“We have got to make sure we have substitute supply. One of the things we are looking at is the possibility of using more of our own hydrocarbons,” Johnson told a press conference following talks with his Dutch and Canadian counterparts in London. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...
Trump sure called it.
And they have no one to blame but themselves. They were warned not to get in bed with your enemy. Maybe the US shouldn’t come save the day for a third time?
“One of the things we are looking at is the possibility of using more of our own hydrocarbons,” Johnson told a press conference “
With that, maybe Boris will be nominated for a Nobel Prize for genius. /sarc
16 minutes of Rupert Darwall with the only ABC Australia reporter worth listening to - Tom Switzer - is time well spent. listen to the end:
5 March: ABC Australia: Between The Lines with Tom Switzer
It’s all about Ukraine
Prospects for net zero (37mins46sec to 53min30sec)
Features Rupert Darwall, senior fellow, Real Clear Foundation.
The conflict exposes Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels but does it accelerate or undermine net zero emission targets. And can the switch away from Russian fossil fuels to renewables happen quickly enough?
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/betweenthelines/it%E2%80%99s-all-about-ukraine_-mary-dejevsky_-kishore-mahbubani_-ruper/13782184
Europe should change its name to Fredo.
Why should Europe cut off their Russian supplies of gas and oil when America is importing over 600,000 barrels a day of Russian oil?
Trump warned of this while opposing Nordstream2. Trump proven correct again.
>And can the switch away from Russian fossil fuels to renewables happen quickly enough?
It cannot be made at all. You can’t power modern civilization on wind and solar.
I think Russia needs to make a deal with China and cut Europe herself. They won’t deliver all the same volumes but are going to make more profit based on price hikes.
In the largest source of “renewable energy” in the U.S. is biomass, which includes not just recovered waste like garbage and landfill gas, but also wood and ethanol. It seems kind of absurd that burning corn and trees is considered a “green” form of energy, but apparently it is.
You can’t power modern civilization on wind, solar and biomass.
I guess the Germans should not have shut down those three nuclear power plants then. Has the planet been saved yet?
indeed, Darwall says it is completely delusional to think intermittent solar & wind can do the job.
Video Trump went to the UN and called out countries for relying on Russian oil
The German delegation was caught on camera laughing at him for saying it
https://rumble.com/vwps7b-trump-went-to-the-un-and-called-out-countries-for-relying-on-russian-oil.html
The irony of this entire sanctions’ kabuki theatre is Russia is making substantially more on its energy exports after the war than before. Europe is not importing less Russian energy after the start of the war but more, except Russia is receiving 35% more for its product than before the war because the war has driven energy prices up at least 35%. We have not cut back on importing Russian energy and China is taking all Russia will send. Even Ukraine is receiving Russian energy by letting it flow thru the pipeline to Poland and Poland reselling it back to Ukraine. The Swift sanctions sleight of hand trick was for public consumption because 20% of Russian banks were exempted and that was because Europe insisted some Russian banks not be subject to SWIFT sanctions so they could funnel payments to Russia for the Russian energy they were buying. The cold reality is Russia is making money from this war, although that is not why they started it. Meanwhile Biden is exhorting our enemies like Iran and Venezuela to produce and ship more oil after cutting US production over the last year when the only nation producing and exporting less energy this year than last is the US because of his policies
Totally understandable! However, the US should NEVER have been in this predicament! Stop it now!
“European leaders wary of cutting off Russian oil and gas”
Seriously?? Why shouldn’t they be?
After all... can they honestly TRUST the US to back them up with oil (to replace what they don’t get from Russia)? Can they trust the US to make good on any kind of support, once they totally alienate Russia and voluntarily go without energy?? NOT!
Wary? It would now be suicidal.
They all wanted the bad orange man out, so they deliberately created the mistrust.
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