Energy Truths Will Set Us Free
14 hours ago Guest Blogger 36 Comments
By Terrence Keeley
Climate science has become too political. Climate policies have become insufficiently scientific. And financial products ostensibly designed to reverse climate change now broadly exacerbate it.
It is against this failing backdrop that a new initiative – the National Center for Energy Analytics – has been launched. NCEA scholars are devoted to data-driven analyses of policies, plans, and technologies that affect the supply and use of energy essential for human flourishing. I recently participated in their first Energy Future Forum in Washington, DC, during which I tried to make four critical points (check the video above to see my part).
The first was that the greatest threat to human progress does not emanate from climate deniers; it comes from trade-off deniers. The idea that public policies, corporations, and individuals should unite around an austerity agenda that deprives markets of the energy sources they need to function risks human calamities that dwarf those from rising temperatures alone. This is why Pope Francis wrote in his climate encyclical Laudato Si: “We are not faced with separate crises – one environmental, another economic – but rather one complex crisis with multiple challenges. Solutions demand an integrated approach. We must combat poverty, restore dignity to the excluded and protect nature all at the same time.”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/07/20/energy-truths-will-set-us-free/