Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Renewable energy companies are distressed that nobody in the Trump administration has called to offer them a share of Coronavirus economic stimulus cash.
Coronavirus could weaken climate change action and hit clean energy investment, researchers warn
PUBLISHED FRI, MAR 13 20202:32 PM EDTEmma Newburger@EMMA_NEWBURGER
- The coronavirus poses a serious threat to long-term climate change action by compromising global investments in clean energy and weakening industry environmental goals to reduce emissions.
- The International Energy Agency is urging governments to offer economic stimulus packages that invest in clean energy technologies.
- “If the lesson learned is, let’s get back to the status quo ante, then [the virus] probably will slow down the energy transition,” author and climate activist Bill McKibben told CNBC.
…
The International Energy Agency, or IEA, has warned the virus outbreak will likely undermine clean energy investment and is urging governments to offer economic stimulus packages that invest in clean energy technologies.
…
In the U.S., the Trump administration has considered providing assistance for hard-hit industries such as the cruise ships and airlines, as well as offering low-interest loans to oil and gas producers that have seen declines in oil prices — a move that would further lock in carbon-intensive investments.
“We have not yet seen similar offers for clean energy companies,” Lock said.
“If economic stimulus packages drive money away from clean energy investments by infusing fossil fuels industries with short-term capital while ignoring clean energy supply chains … we could see a domino effect that would push us further away from our clean energy goals,” she added.
…
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/coronavirus-could-weaken-climate-change-action-hit-clean-energy.html
HOW DARE THEY ™. How will the world cope if all the wind turbine and solar companies go bust?
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Hello climate alarmists…
This is what a REAL crisis looks like.
Yes a real crisis for once, one that will test politicians everywhere.
It will also be a major test of the Ponzi financial system as central bankers scramble to maintain the illusions of wealth, to prevent investors from pulling their money out.
When one looks at what’s happened to the oil price and the weakness in fossil fuels renewables just became a lot more expensive. I suspect the Chinese won’t be too keen to use renewables ( except the export of them ) to regenerate their economy.
Using the COVID-19 pandemic to have a poke at the renewable energy industry – something that is totally irrelevant in the grand scheme of things is really a new despicable low!
What is becoming clearer during this whole crisis is that politicians in some countries are putting the interests of their business backers before that of the general population.
Bailouts galore to support businesses, speeches stating that they’ll be well looked after and so on.
The Chinese for once have it right, by rapidly putting in severe travel restrictions, they have appeared to have limited the spread of the virus (well as much as you can trust the Chinese media – that is)
Concern Trolling Phil?
““We have not yet seen similar offers for clean energy companies,” Lock said.”
I guess you could have read the posted article, but that would be too hard?
Not at all!
If it was any other “vested interest” group complaining about not having their slice of the cake.
Clearly the US government is looking after political sponsors first.
Anyway, As far as tackling COVID-19 it appears that the total embargo on movement seems to have stopped any new cases being reported in China, Italy and several other countries are now adopting similar restrictions on personal movement. These of course will suppress the demands for transportation fuels while increasing the demands on electricity as more work from home.
So in fact the solar & wind energy harvesting companies will not even need subsidies as they’re going to have increased demands for their energy.
I recommend the subsidies forked out to “renewables” to be diverted to help the real victims of Corona and keep the economy rolling, just common sense.
Wind turbines and Solar panels do not have to stay home in order to reduce the spread of pathogens.
Actual maintenance personnel can easily stay 6 feet away from customers.
Fredrick Michael,
Interesting you should mention the population thing.
Over here in Blighty, the Queens husband (Phil the Greek) is on record as saying he wished to return as a virulent virus to wipe out the “little” people (no not just the Irish) down to a s”sustainable” level of about 100 million.
Our poor Queen has her cross to bear having a deranged husband, son and now grandson all members of the global warming cult.
I wonder if old geriatric Phil has been over to Wuhan recently?
He might have something there…
Segregation at this point may if the talking heads are correct…
Will make no difference in the percent of the total US population that will eventually get corvid-19.
The reason why that is so, if I understand their reasoning, is twofold.
1) The virus has become established in the local population (there cases of no known source in the US) and due to the virus’ extreme survivability and easy of spreading and difficulty to stop in a non-hospital setting…
…. it is not possible to stop the spread of the virus to and within the general population of the US or any other developed country at this point in time.
2) This virus will mutate in a flu like manner so it will return again with the same same micro biological connections to attack the lungs.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/15/nolte-ex-obama-official-reports-too-late-stop-1-million-u-s-coronavirus-deaths/
Corvid Economic Train Wreck that has no name at this point in time, See France and Italy for the first cases.
To waste money on green stuff that does not work, we need a functioning economy that is growing as opposed to the dreaded economic recession or train wrecks which we have no name for…
The US and other countries are shutting down roughly 20% of their GDP, when the ripple effect is taken into account…
By shutdown all sporting events, most retail Stores, schools, restaurants, almost all travel related Industries, and so on.,. this almost instantly stops this section of the economy.
Cinema companies in the US and in every developed country will start to go bankrupt by this summer. Same as many hotel chains, and airline companies.
Sadly, climate change is not rapidly fatal and can’t be turned into a panic. If it could, then even MORE money would go to the useless alt-energy companies. In their case, they will create the panic when they massively fail, should we be foolish enough to go said route. It’s like trying to cure a disease by killing the patients. Fortunately, cooler heads are dealing with Covid 19. At least some. The panic buying will pass and the stores will still be there. Not so with wind and solar. If fossil fuels fade, the darkness stays and plague continues for many years. Also, shutting down fossil fuel plants for a couple days can illustrate the futility of the alt-energy people’s products. Unfortunately, that would also illustrate that alt-energy is the parasite, the virus, and should be feared as we currently do Covid 19.
Cooler heads?
Those that treat the death of 80 years old with (not from) “the coronavirus” as particularly newsworthy?
The International Energy Agency, or IEA,…is urging governments to offer economic stimulus packages that invest in clean energy technologies.
Um, where have they been, governments have been and continue to offer lots of money to stimulate “clean energy”. If anything they should redirect that money to where it’s more useful that the waste of resources that is unreliables (wind and solar).
Apparently they don’t realize that any stimulus offered is strictly to cover shortfalls caused by the virus, to make sure the companies don’t fold and cause even more problems. This isn’t just an excuse to hand out money.
People aren’t using less clean energy because they’re laid off, at home, and forbidden to travel. People ARE using less oil and such for those reasons.