Mr. Gore, is the energy crisis setting back the fight against climate change?

Jan Hauser

Editor in Business.

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No, she strengthens him.

But above all, Europe faces the challenge of balancing the short-term risks of the Russian oil, gas and coal shutdown with the long-term risks of the climate crisis.

In most cases we will see a good balance with the realization that nobody has to freeze in winter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to blackmail Europe and bend it to the will of an autocrat with the immoral attack on Ukraine.

But that has strengthened the will of governments across the continent to accelerate the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

And in the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act promises to cut emissions by up to 40 percent below 2005 levels.

Isn't the transition to a zero-carbon economy going too slowly?

Clear.

I have long advocated making the transition faster.

Realists will remind us that the world still gets 80 percent of its energy from fossil fuels.

It will be some time before we completely eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

But the world now has the right goal of cutting carbon emissions by half by 2030, just eight years from now.

This is the roadmap to net-zero emissions by 2050. One of the most hopeful aspects of the IPCC's latest report is that once we hit net, temperatures on Earth will stop rising with a lag of only 3 to 5 years - have reached zero.

Let's stick with a real net zero point,

Half of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions will return from the atmosphere to the upper oceans and vegetation in just 25 to 30 years.

The news isn't all grim.

We can clean the air and water and improve living standards while eliminating the pollutants of global warming.

How is that supposed to work?

First, we have all the solutions to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half over the next eight years.

The International Energy Agency IEA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC also say so.

There is always some inertia - even if it were more profitable to immediately shut down a coal-fired power plant and replace it with wind turbines or solar power.

Some companies and institutions are still reluctant to change.

But Mother Nature is now speaking up very convincingly.

Was US President Donald Trump right when he warned Germany about dependence on Russian gas?

Several presidents have tried to avoid the difficulties Europe is now facing due to dependence on Russian gas and oil.

Former President Ronald Reagan made a similar effort long ago.

When I was Vice President, the Clinton-Gore administration's policy was to end Europe's growing dependence on Russia's fossil fuel reserves.

All the presidents who warned Europe about this dependency were right.

But Europe has not listened and must now bear the consequences.

After the Fukushima tragedy, the change in nuclear policy has increased the level of difficulty for Germany.

Everyone understands that.

But now leaders across the continent are talking about renewable energy bringing freedom.

Germany is in the process of shutting down all nuclear power plants.

Do you think that Germany needs more nuclear power?

The Germans themselves must make the decision about Germany's energy future.

In the United States, the cost of nuclear power has made most utilities reluctant to build new reactors.

However, public opinion appears to be in favor of extending the operating life of some existing nuclear power plants if it can be demonstrated that their operation is sufficiently safe.

Do you expect Russia to send more gas through the pipelines to Europe again?