THE DAY TIME FROZE: ENERGY IN EUROPE

In the early hours of February 2022 time stopped. The first of the Russian salvo hit my beautiful city of Kyiv and a country of 40+ million woke to the impossible news. For me winter never ended, spring and summer still lie dormant. The crisis which hit Ukraine that day has longer ramifications for Europe.

We are already in a ‘climate emergency’, and many governments are responding to this emergency by taking action to try to reduce the impact of global warming. However the action is too slow and it seems that global warming has only shown them the cliff.

If global warming pushed many countries towards to cliff the current Russian Invasion of Ukraine and it's terroristic use of energy and food as a weapon of blackmail has pushed many European countries over the cliff. They are finally taking the issue of de-carbonising seriously, not only for the green agenda, but now more than ever to enable energy independence.

There are a number of issues surrounding the switch to no Russian fuel. These issues include rising energy prices and energy security, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, the impact of global warming, peak oil and the implications of that, and the problems of coal burning. I will also explain the role of renewables in our energy mix, and how they can benefit us in the near and far future.

To begin with, let's talk about the short term. Europe will definitely have to switch to renewable energy sources in order to deal with its energy challenges. As long as fossil fuels remain in high demand, they will continue to dominate the energy sector. This will cause a large amount of CO₂ emissions to be generated. As the global population grows, so does the demand for energy. Most of the energy needs will have to be met using fossil fuels. Fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in Europe's energy mix, in both the short and long term.

Europe has to use fossil fuels to meet its energy demands for the next 20 years. This includes oil and natural gas. The first step towards the development of renewable energy sources is the construction of wind farms and solar panels. This will reduce the use of coal in Europe. It will also decrease the use of electricity. The use of coal in the past 30 years has led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

The over reliance on Russian Energy has led Europe to be held over a barrel and the current status of European Green Energy industry and the possible solutions for the future can now longer be kicking the can down the road. Action is required now especially to avoid a cold winter this year.

What direction do you think Europe Should take?

Comment below I'd love to hear your Ideas