OPINION: There is no quick fix for Europe’s self-manufactured energy crisis – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – October 9, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Suppose you were told 10 years ago that you had 10 years to replace your soot-spewing diesel car. You did not. Now, you’ve missed the deadline and have no right to be surprised by your sudden lack of four-wheeled transportation – you had ample time to buy a hybrid or electric car.

So it is with Europe. A bit more than a decade ago, a concerted effort was launched within the European Union countries and a few others on the continent to phase out their coal-fired generating plants to clean the skies and slow the pace of global warming.

For the most part, the effort worked and governments congratulated themselves for a green job well done. Coal plants everywhere died an undignified death.

Across Europe, about half are gone or slated to close soon. In the mid-naughts, a third to a half of the U.K.’s electricity came from coal; today, practically none does. Ditto with Denmark.

For the rest of this article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-how-europe-manufactured-its-own-energy-crisis/