With the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House, a political earthquake has been generated that has its aftershocks in the energy field. To the cry of “Drill, baby, drill”, regulations, decades-long policies to diversify the energy matrix and global goals to reduce the disastrous effects of growing greenhouse gas emissions have been ignored.
While the goal seems economic (to monetize their abundant fossil resources), the arrogant tribe of deniers is dancing for what they see as an endorsement of their anti-scientific theories. In fact, the main goal of the deniers (there are even some in Bolivia!) is the Energy Transition (ET) which would presumably be close to a resounding failure.
For starters, there is no such “final blow” to the “famous and banal” TE (as they write) for the change of tenant of the White House. With the data for 2022 and 2023, it is possible to say that, globally, the European Union (EU) generates between 22 and 25% of its consumption with renewable energy sources (hydroelectric, solar, wind, geothermal, etc.), a percentage lower than the reviled China (30-35%) and similar to the United States (20-22%). Similarly, the EU consumes electricity from nuclear reactors in 25-30%, more than China (5%) and the United States (18-20%).
By the way, the mistake of the deniers is to proclaim that renewable sources intend to replace fossil fuels overnight, when in reality there is an internal TE of fossil fuels that seeks to eliminate the combustion of coal, reduce oil consumption and keep the supply of natural gas stable, as a transition fuel.
In the specific case of the EU, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has slowed down, but not stopped, ET because, in the face of the cut-off of Russian gas, it has forced investments to be diverted towards the purchase of expensive NLG from the US, not to mention growing spending on armaments. I don’t want to think about what would have happened to the EU if it had not secured 50% of its supply from non-fossil sources.
In reality, the Energy Transition will continue to develop, albeit at different speeds, despite the denial tendencies of Climate Change and private interests, due to the environmental consciousness of society that is constantly growing and due to technological advances in the energy sector in favor of the efficiency and competitiveness of clean energy. In short, sustainable energy transformation is an inevitable path and will continue to advance in the future.
So far, ET seems to be an ethical choice based on responsibility for the “common home” of humanity, a choice that the climate upheavals that are observed daily help to reinforce. But the situation in Bolivia is completely different.
I never tire of repeating that for Bolivia, ET, more than an option in favor of the planetary climate, is a necessity and an urgency. And if you don’t believe me, look around today to see the consequences of the short-sightedness and incompetence of the MAS governments, unable to develop an adequate energy policy for the country. These governments, instead of denying the destruction of the energy sector caused by the nationalization of hydrocarbons and increasing the supply of fuels by spending and borrowing as much as they can, should have long ago embarked on a serious plan to convert transport to methane and to encourage the use of electricity produced from renewable sources. For not having done so, we now have endless queues at gas stations, with the consequent economic, social and psychological cost that is testing people’s patience for a failed economic model and a government in a coma.