Climate technology change — part 1

Are we really greening the grid?

Energy giant RWE operates a coal-fired power station, as well as wind turbines in North-Rhine Westphalia

Last week I joined The Economist’s talk on climate technology given by four of their journalists. It was a good opportunity to hear their summary about the latest climate technology and how it’s been pivoting quickly with Russian gas becoming more restricted in Europe.

The immediate result of Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine has been a European energy shock. This has been particularly badly felt in Germany which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, having closed all but three of its nuclear power stations with all coal-fired stations set to close by 2038 at the latest.

It’s a tricky time for Germany’s Economic Affairs and Climate Action Minister, whose top priority is securing energy supplies, even though the core issue for his environmentalist Green Party is the phasing out of coal and nuclear as quickly as possible.

Has energy security taken priority over climate and environmental goals?

Yes.

Europe is buying lots of natural gas from around the world to replace the Russian gas which could be cut off at any point. Huge…