Why green energy transition will not work

Politicians are kidding us that they have the solution to climate change: there are simply not the mineral resources to deliver the energy buffers to back up wind and solar.

Last weekend, I shared a speaking platform with Simon Michaud, who is Associate Research Professor of Mineral Processing for the Geological Survey of Finland. I found his presentation to be a real eye opener about the impracticality of global decarbonisation. I would make a few additional points to those raised in the must-watch video below:

• There is no way that decarbonisation will happen under current plans. If they are to be pursued, the shortage of key metals such as copper will rapidly become apparent.

• You would think that as it is realised current assumptions are wholly unrealistic that politicians will adapt their electricity generation policies. Simon has discussed this with politicians all over the world and found a common refusal to change course or even consider alternative clean energy sources. Clearly, any change in thinking is becoming too late to head off an energy disaster for America, Europe, Australia, and Japan.

• China, India and other Asian nations are manufacturing our solar panels and other climate change kit because it is a lucrative business. But as the West faces an economic collapse due to its anti-fossil fuel mania, don’t expect Asia led by China and Russia to go down with it. They are not stupid, will most probably have come to similar conclusions as Simon, and will distance themselves from our economic suicide.

• The evidence is that our woke politicians will not be for turning. Instead, by their follies they will drive up metal and relevant raw material prices towards the moon. Historically, gold correlates broadly with them, so this is strong a non-monetary reason to buy gold.