2024/03/23

To Defend Democracy, Countries Are Being Forced to Make a Major Shift in Their Energy Policies.
2022/3/22
The following is from an article by Taishi Sugiyama, Senior Research Fellow at the Canon Institute for Global Studies, titled “Energy Policy for the Defense of Democracy,” published in today’s Sankei Shimbun in its “Seiron” opinion column.
This article, too, demonstrates that he is one of the finest minds in the world today, possessing a genuine intellect befitting his education at the University of Tokyo.
It is essential reading not only for the Japanese people but also for people throughout the world.
The emphasis in the text, apart from the headings, is mine.
In response to Russian President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Europe imposed economic sanctions.
However, it is hesitant.
Oil and gas exports are the pillars of Russia’s economy and public finances, and stopping them would deal a major blow.
Yet, for now, they are not subject to sanctions.
Why?
Because if gas supplies stopped, Europe, too, would face ruin.
Europe relies on Russia for approximately 40% of its gas imports.
Without this gas, heating would be impossible.
Factories would also shut down because of fuel shortages.
Europe cannot live normally without Russian gas.
The European Union has been enthusiastic about decarbonization, rejecting coal and halting oil and gas development.
It has even abandoned nuclear power.
As a result, its energy supply has been left to “the wind and Russia.”
Last year, the wind was weak, and dependence on Russian gas rose to a dangerous level.
Seeing Europe as an easy target, Russia invaded Ukraine.
Europe brought this war upon itself by undermining its own energy supply.
The United States Is Turning Away from “Decarbonization” on a Bipartisan Basis
Senator Ted Cruz, a former Republican presidential candidate, has charged that the Biden administration’s self-destructive energy policies, driven by its enthusiasm for decarbonization, were a factor that invited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, alongside its disgraceful withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Senator Marco Rubio stated forcefully, “The greatest sanction against Russia is to declare that we will stop the foolish Green Deal right now.”
The United States is the world’s largest producer of oil and gas.
Had it been serious about supplying the world with resources, energy prices would have fallen substantially.
However, the Biden administration has been so enthusiastic about decarbonization that it has imposed regulations and pressure on domestic oil and gas companies, forcing them to abandon their operations and resource interests.
As a result, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia gained control over the global oil and gas market, and prices remained high.
Concerned about worsening inflation, Europe and the United States are becoming increasingly reluctant to impose economic sanctions.
Meanwhile, Russia still earns as much as one billion dollars a day from Europe and elsewhere through oil and gas exports.
Opponents of decarbonization have also emerged within the United States’ governing Democratic Party.
Senator Joe Manchin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, has stated, “We should substantially increase domestic oil and gas production and supply it to the free world.”
The Biden administration will likely come under pressure from bipartisan legislation in Congress and be forced to change course.
A Major Policy Shift in Europe
European countries are also moving toward reducing their dependence on Russian gas, importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States and elsewhere, and increasing their use of coal.
This represents a fundamental shift from their previous policies focused exclusively on decarbonization.
The German government, which had spearheaded decarbonization, is no exception.
Chancellor Scholz announced that the government would reconsider its policies of phasing out coal and nuclear power and consider building LNG terminals.
In the United Kingdom, members of the governing Conservative Party have argued that shale gas extraction, which had effectively been banned on environmental grounds, should begin.
The United Kingdom has ample gas reserves.
Had it developed them on a scale comparable to the United States, it should have been able to meet its own gas needs without importing from Russia.
There is an urgent need to reconsider decarbonization and make use of fossil fuel resources such as LNG, coal, and shale gas.
However, doing so would mean repudiating previous policies.
It remains uncertain how quickly governments can change course, particularly those in the United Kingdom and Germany, which had been especially committed to decarbonization.
A Moratorium on Decarbonization
Going forward, Russia will be shut out of the global market.
As a result, oil and gas will become scarce worldwide, and prices will soar.
Japan must abandon the policies of “decarbonization” and “prioritizing renewable energy above all else” contained in its current Basic Energy Plan.
Together with Europe and the United States, it must end its self-destructive decarbonization policies and revive its fossil fuel industry.
It needs to make full use of coal-fired power generation and move forward with restarting nuclear power plants.
Surplus gas should be resold to the rest of the world.
This would prevent energy prices from soaring both in Japan and worldwide.
For Russia, which relies on energy exports for its financial resources, this would constitute the greatest economic sanction.
It would deal a blow to President Putin while rescuing the free world from its predicament.
Meanwhile, domestic factories and households face soaring oil and gas prices.
Energy taxes and renewable energy surcharges therefore need to be reduced.
This can be achieved by suspending costly policies such as support for renewable energy.
The policy changes described above are inconsistent with the government’s current target of reducing CO₂ emissions by 46% by 2030.
A moratorium on decarbonization—that is, a temporary suspension—is therefore necessary.
Even if Japan did not reduce its CO₂ emissions at all during the ten years beginning in 2020, the resulting rise in global temperature would be no more than 0.005 degrees Celsius.
Defending democracy is more important.
The developed countries’ energy policies, focused exclusively on decarbonization, have empowered dictatorships and brought about the worst possible outcome: war.
To defend democracy, countries are being forced to make a major shift in their energy policies.
Japan cannot be an exception.