In an illuminating piece by Tilak Doshi on Forbes, the economic trajectory of Europe under the weight of its environmental policies is critically analyzed. Doshi paints a stark picture of what he describes as a self-inflicted wound to Europe’s industrial base, driven by stringent regulations and a shift away from reliable energy sources.
“Voltaire famously said that ‘common sense is not so common.’ Nowhere is this adage more relevant than in the field of energy policies in the European Union. These policies are most vigorously pursued in Germany—Europe’s industrial powerhouse—since it adopted the Energiewende legislation in 2010. The ‘green’ regulations and mandates adopted are simultaneously hostile to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Energiewende (German for ‘energy turnaround’) refers to the ongoing energy transition to an imagined future of low carbon, environmentally sound, reliable, and affordable energy supply”.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tilakdoshi/2024/05/09/as-europe-deindustrializes-can-economic-suicide-be-avoided/?sh=2c2c6f663dfa
Doshi’s analysis starts with Germany, the hub of Europe’s industrial might, which has seen a significant decline in its industrial production since 2017. This decline is attributed to the Energiewende, a policy initiative aimed at transitioning to renewable energy sources but which has resulted in high energy costs and reduced competitiveness in the global market.
“Germany’s industrial production peaked in November of 2017, and by the end of last year had fallen to a level last seen in 2006 outside of the global financial recession and Covid-19 years. Its industrial sector contracted by almost 14% in the 6 years ending December 2023.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tilakdoshi/2024/05/09/as-europe-deindustrializes-can-economic-suicide-be-avoided/?sh=2c2c6f663dfa
…
Energy-intensive trade-oriented industries, involving both among small and medium-sized firms as well as behemoths like BASF, have been worst hit, as high energy prices make vast swathes of Germany’s manufacturing sector uncompetitive. The self-inflicted economic meltdown in the pursuit of ‘net zero’ policy goals goes beyond Germany. Industrial capacity is being decimated across Europe”.
Furthermore, Doshi points out that these economic policies have not just been problematic for industry, but also have broader socio-political repercussions. A growing discontent among European citizens is manifesting, particularly among those most impacted like farmers and small business owners, who are increasingly protesting against what they perceive as burdensome and unrealistic regulatory frameworks.
“Since the summer of 2023, Europe’s Green Deal has been on regulatory pause, as EU governments face a ‘greenlash’ against environmental policies. In the face of energy and cost of living crises, farmers, consumers and trade groups are starting to resent the burdensome costs of sprawling environmental regulations across the continent. Nowhere is this sense of grievance more apparent than in the great European farmer’s revolt, as farmers’ protests escalated across the continent since they first started in the Netherlands in October 2019″.
Doshi does not stand alone in his criticism. He cites other commentators who suggest a rethinking of energy policies could be on the horizon in Europe, influenced perhaps by economic necessity rather than environmental idealism.
“The heavy costs of suppressing the use of fossil fuels while promoting intermittent, weather-dependent renewable energy technologies over the past decade has been disguised and diffused by hidden costs and fiscal transfers to powerful constituencies. But over time, ‘net zero’ climate policies have become increasingly unbearable for ordinary people as they reach beyond the power sector to cover agriculture, transport, homes, and buildings”.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tilakdoshi/2024/05/09/as-europe-deindustrializes-can-economic-suicide-be-avoided/?sh=2c2c6f663dfa
This reflection on Europe’s industrial and economic decline under the weight of green policies serves as a cautionary tale about the unintended consequences of well-meaning but poorly implemented government policies. The rigorous enforcement of these policies, without adequate consideration for economic realities and the basic energy needs of a developed economy, may well lead to what Doshi refers to as economic suicide. His article urges a balance—a recalibration of environmental goals with the practical needs of economic stability and growth, reflecting a sentiment that perhaps, the pendulum of environmental policy has swung too far.
________________________________________________________________
The Duck Test says that Green policies aren’t well meaning.
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…
It’s an AI rendition of a goldfish
When energy policy walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a policy run by quacks.
As Europe Deindustrializes: Is it Undergoing Economic Suicide[?]
In a word; yes.
I suspect that the energy transition they desire will not be a smooth or even bumpy road to this fabled renewable utopia. No, it’s going to rely heavily on behavioural science, such as it is, to cajole and nudge people, albeit incrementally, in the ‘right’ direction.
Woke elements of capitalism can be expected to play their part:
“The boss of British Gas has called for households to face mandatory smart meter installations weeks after government figures showed that almost 4m meters are not working. Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of the British Gas owner Centrica, told a committee of MPs that smart meters should be installed in all homes through a “street by street” programme…”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/08/british-gas-boss-chris-oshea-all-uk-households-fitted-smart-meters
It kind of makes you pine for the old [Thatcherite] days of kite flying – leaving a document (to be found) in, say, a photocopier, or a public place – to see how the idea is received. But then, the press didn’t follow a globally agreed narrative. There was, er, some diversity of thought and opinion.
We’re bound by a law to de-industrialise and it is happening. It’s happening in places like Port Talbot and another famous English steel making town – one that cannot be mentioned here without going into moderation…
This is just the opening salvo and nobody in the elites is opposed to any of it.
Suicide has such a negative connotation.
Death isn’t exactly a plus, is it?
Depends whose it is….
Death isn’t exactly a plus, is it?
Perhaps it is what Klaus Schwab means when he says that you will own nothing and be happy.
Perhaps?
Scissor:
There is a viral photo/video of Schwab making its rounds on the web where he is sitting in his office during an interview with a bust of Vladimir Lenin on the shelf behind him.
WEF Klaus Schwab with Lenin statue behind him – source of video in SS. : r/conspiracy (reddit.com)
Klaus Schwab Lenin bust (youtube.com)
That his WEF (World Enslavement Forum) has any degree of respect among world leaders and the global media is scary to say the least.
‘This reflection on Europe’s industrial and economic decline under the weight of green policies serves as a cautionary tale about the unintended consequences of well-meaning but poorly implemented government policies.’
‘well-meaning’ – ???
Well-meaning … saving the planet and future generations is their claim.
Intermittent – yes
Weather-dependent – Yes
Renewable – No
WDGs are carbon intensive. They and their support system consume more carbon in their manufacture than they can save in any operating life under 200 years.
The transition has been give a price tag of USD200tr. That would buy 2,000Gt of coal at current prices; enough to last 250 years at current consumption. The problem is that the transition has to be undertaken again within 25 years so it uses coal at about 10 times the rate of just burning the stuff in the first place.
Unless you have operated an off-grid WDG you have no idea of the costs involved. I still see people working on averages – so incompetent it is bewildering.
Again, source, and whilst I respect your previous response, it didn’t actually support the claim that you are making.
“renewable“
Your interpretation is not meaningful.
Sun, wind, and rain manage to return on their own without mining or drilling.
It is believed by most that Carbon-based fuels do not renew.
It doesn’t help the skeptical narrative to confuse word meanings.
Unless it is shot into outer space the Earth will eventually recycle it.
Not the energy, that is gone from the earth. As for the physical materials, “recycling” mostly requires large energy inputs that “the Earth” will not supply on its own.
The very large material and energy resources necessary to harvest sun and wind are heavily biased to more entropy. They are definitely not “renewable” and in many cases they are required in greater quantity than if used for convential energy production.
Green energy is part of the story. The other part is that Germany used to be the exclusive producer of many high value products. Chinese manufacturers worked up the quality chain and captured market share.
At the other end, Germany has mostly ignored IT, web, cloud, and software in general.
The US can win through software and AI advantages. Germany only had manufacturing and now they FUBAR.
Ireland for comparison has a lot more wind energy, but their economy is growing because of IT stuff.
What’s the price of electricity in Ireland?
Ireland has done very well out of becoming a major home for the tech industry but they are now beginning to realise that it is not all a plus side. For example if all the data centres currently in the pipeline are built it is estimated they will be using 70% of the country’s electricity by 2030.
They also killed their Photovoltaics industry. And it looks like they do the same with EVs.
EVs were never a viable industry, because most car (and truck) buyers aren’t interested in the product. Even WITH governments trying to shove them down everyone’s throats with all matter of “incentives” that won’t last forever.
Yeah we Paddies are good at picking dud products.
Look what we did with potatoes.
Going with too much wind and solar will eventually kill EVERY industry.. !
Industry requires solid, reliable, dispatchable electricity.
In coach flying out of Munich last summer, the beer offering on my United Airlines’ flight was Michelob Ultra.
Now that is a crime against humanity.
So what BEER did they serve?
There is an internal contradiction in this statement. The Michelob Ultra is soda, surely. Certanly notBer, they wouldn’t be allowed to call it that in Bavaria.
Western economies are dependent on China for steel, heavy and tech manufacturing, clothes, pharmaceuticals, etc….so, I see no problem in China’s domination. Or in their closest associates–N.Korea, Russia, Brazil, Iran.+++.
Just sit back and IT or even AI…that will feed us, shelter us and protect us.
Huh?
China had a trade surplus of £57.92bn ($72.4bn) in April 2024. Everything is going to plan.
Central planning never works. Unintended consequences keep following unintended consequences and require more and more government until one day – you have a government commissar living in your house monitoring and telling you what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, so that government regulations are followed t the letter.
Oil guy scaremongers people into using oil.
Outside of this little bubble renewables develop at ever increasing speed. Mr. Doshi and his fellow peddlers of fear may want to find other patrons that they can sell themselves to.
And if you think farmers are on his site, you better not catch up on agrophotovoltaics.
That says all we need to know about you.
Apply that same reasoning to people selling EVs or so-called “renewables” and you’ll be one step closer to having an informed thought.
Everybody is using oil in the one or the other appearance. You know it but ignore it.
“Renewables” may develop at increasing speed, but just not when the demand is high, so it’s not an advantage, the contrast is true.
Continue your wet dreams.
But YOU are using oil every day and I bet you have no solar panels on your roof, you are all talk and no walk.
And you use renewable energy.
You are absolutely reliant on the huge benefits of fossil fuels.
They support every aspect of your pitiful existence.
NOBODY can “rely” on wind and solar… EVER !!!
People are far better off without them acting as a parasite on the grid system.
It must be nice to live in a world where you can just dismiss any fact that goes against what you want to believe.
As to your claims that renewables are being built at increasing speeds, the data doesn’t support your belief.
If you think you can grow crops in the shadow of solar panels, you are even dumber than everyone thinks.
these are the comments i come here for. So smug and yet so wrong. 😀
“So smug and yet so wrong.”
How very introspective of you.!
So the real world is wrong, and only your opinions matter?
Anyone still tracking the Keeling curve? It just jumped 4.7 PPM from April 2023 to April 2024 proving the pointlessness of reducing CO2 emission in Europe while increasing them in Asia.
Your point is still valid, but it looks like it’s 3.2 ppm. https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/
Well, that fits with the overall progressive suicide. The little hive minds – voting and in charge – have already embarked on a downward spiral of cultural denial and demographic surrender. Why not place fantasy climate disaster 1000 years from now at the top of your priorities too?
This is only anecdotal but I just returned from Western Australia where I saw lots of families with babies and young children and there is plenty of skepticism of authority, especially with how covid was handled. The yearn for freedom seems to be strong there.
In Victoria, around Melbourne, my impression was that propaganda is more invasive and effective there.
The “little hive minds” of Europe seem to commit mass suicide about once per century. The Black Death, the danse macabre, and the start of the 100 Years War in the 14th century; the concluding paroxysms of the 100 Years War in the 15th century; the Reformation and associated wars in the 16th century; the 30 Years War in the 17th century (with massive depopulation in Central Europe that set back Germany for the next 200 years); massive colonial wars and famines in the 18th century; Napoleonic wars at the beginning of the 19th century; and two “world” wars in the first half of the 20th century.
Europe features great museums, food, and music, but tends to fly off the handle now and then.
Don’t think they can’t do it again. “Say, I’ve got a swell idea. Let’s move back into mud huts, knead bread by hand, stop bathing, and get all our energy from sunshine and dried cow flop.”
Story Tip
…it was the winter of despair
The connection of extreme event attribution to loss and damages and liability troubles me. I’ve found it hard to pinpoint exactly why it troubles me – something about the imbalance and asymmetry between benefit and harm, weird edge cases, the absurd counterfactual natural world, the focus on rare events at the expense of things that happen almost all the time, the invisibility of what doesn’t happen, and so on. It’s a long list, but this morning1, I came up with a though experiment that maybe illuminates some of them.
Good thought experiment. Could have mentioned longevity, pain and suffering, etc.
Interesting—….die Asymmetrie zwischen Nutzen und Schaden…..Oder vielleicht nicht….Nun kühlt diese groß angelegte Entfernung von Treibhausgasen 5 die Erde ab….. Wo ist die Asymmetrie?
Wir müssen der Ausgasenpuff anhalten. Texas Deutsche for automobile tailpipe!
They can serve each other sustainable lattes.
Soy milk?
By now it should be obvious to everyone that CO2 Net Zero policy implementation is going to be a disaster for the German people.
Let’s hope this German Net Zero disaster is sufficient evidence for the rest of us to decide not to follow the same destructive Net Zero path.
I feel sorry for the German people. They can see the personal disaster coming but can’t seem to knock any sense into their political leaders to make them change course.
Klaus Schwab has a schadenboner.
So as the West/Industrialized countries push head long into economic suicide who will be buying all the products from China?
Some want to force people to renovate when they buy a house. With fines up to €200.000 (yes you read it right) and some even 5 year of jail. You threat a smuch you want but one doesn’t have money, one doens’t have money. That politician is proud because it makes older houses cheaper. It’s more the hous that you worked for as retirement security now loses it’s value. Or the children who inherit it. Current breed of politicians are complete morons. There’s something serious wrong with our system. We have career politicians who never worked in the real world or achieved anything. We could outsource government to kindergarden if we want fairytales, will be cheaper anyway.
“Buy a house; end up in the clink.” A policy that really makes a stink.
These policies were NEVER well meaning. Ever. The climate scam is used to control the masses and only for thus goal.
It has nothing to do with any kind of “environmental protections plan”.
There are trillions of dollars to be made off of so-called “climate change” products.
Daytime maximum temperature in Poland up to 20 C, at 5 am at ground -2 C. Dry air is transparent to radiation.
Most of the ovaries on fruit trees have already frozen.
Of course I might be biased by what I read but evidence that these policies are “well-meaning” seems to be rather starkly lacking.
Send the Greens to the eastern front–without coats.
Europe doesn’t have a climate problem, they have a government problem. Layer upon layer of worthless government. Dealing with one government is bad enough but the Europeans are real suckers for punishment. Some small form of government is necessary but government needs huge guard rails to keep them out of our business, especially our power business.
it’s not suicide when someone is paying to implant those ideas into your collective consciousness. it’s inception
That was always the plane, per the UN IPCC. Create an agenda to move economic dominance of global economy to Asia. They said so, more or less.
Why Strong could find sanctuary in Shanghai from his gratetul CHinese communist chums when caught with $1M from UN funds.sticking to his fingers.
Well meaning? Really? Try that link again…
?rlkey=co3ha03fjxlnkir7l4yaw13o1&e=1&dl=0
Hang on, this server allows images….