The West is on the road to energy ruin
kuchinster@hub.hubzilla.de
Since the beginning of the Ukraine war and the sanctions it triggered, energy prices have skyrocketed. Liz Truss has warned that soaring energy bills are a ‘price worth paying’ in order to stand up against Vladimir Putin. President Joe Biden has called this year’s rocketing bills ‘Putin’s price hike.’ Margrethe Vestager, vice president of the European Commission, has encouraged Europeans to take short, cold showers to conserve energy. ‘When you turn off the water, say ‘Take that, Putin!’’ she urged.
But are the high prices really Putin’s fault? He didn’t sanction himself, after all. It’s the West that chose to cut itself off from the Russian fossil fuels upon which it had come to rely. Moreover, the sanctions haven’t been an unqualified success — Russia’s corporate profits leapt 25 per cent between the imposition of the sanctions and the end of August.
So what are the origins of the current energy crisis? When did it really begin?
Let’s play a game. Guess which year these headlines are from: ‘Curtailed ammonia production in Antwerp and Ludwigshafen.’ ‘High natural gas prices lead to a shutdown of British fertiliser plants.’ ‘Diesel Shortage Amid Soaring Prices: Truck Stops Resort To Rationing.’ If you guessed 2022, you’d be wrong. Those are all from September 2021.
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https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/western-leaders-must-share-the-blame-for-the-energy-crisis/
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