President Joe Biden’s energy czar Amos Hochstein claims to be aware of the need to move away from the fossil fuels that cause such severe climate change.
He vigorously promotes the use of heat pumps, energy-efficient thermostats, and renewable energy.
Hochstein can sound like the West’s oilfield roustabout when it comes to solving the urgent energy issues brought on by Russia’s war in Ukraine, but he can also be likened to a gigantic pipe wrench when it comes to the world’s energy shortages, which are at the verge of calamity.
Hochstein enthusiastically discussed the potential for a new floating natural gas terminal in Albania, new gas connections elsewhere in the Balkans, increasing the flow of gas from Central Asia, and transferring gas from Spain to the rest of Europe while testifying before a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee this month on U.S. assistance in Europe’s Russian-fueled energy problems.
After the session, Hochstein told the AP, “We have to accept the fact that the system in Europe today is dependent on gas.
An envoy, whose work is typically done in secret, provided a relatively uncommon public description. And I need to guarantee that everyone has access to energy and heating during the winter.
However, some climate activists are becoming more concerned about what they perceive to be a focus from the Biden administration on new, U.S.-heavy infrastructure projects and natural gas as part of an all-out effort by Europe and the U.S. to wean Europe away from its dependence on Russian oil and gas.
According to environmental organizations, greater spending on pipelines, terminals, port infrastructure, and storage facilities might lock in a long-term increase in the use of fossil fuels while doing little to address the continent’s most pressing energy crisis.
As a result of Biden and other Group of Seven leaders softening their 2021 climate pledges to stop financing new fossil fuel infrastructure with public funds due to Russia’s conflict, criticism escalated on Tuesday.
In response, Kate DeAngelis, international finance program manager of Friends of the Earth, released a statement saying, “Public support for gas infrastructure is hardly the climate president Joe Biden promised.”
Hochstein identifies his immediate problem as keeping Europeans from freezing in their homes through the end of the year, despite the fact that American businesses have nearly increased America’s exports of liquefied natural gas to Europe in the months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Before the conflict, Russia supplied the European Union with about 40% of its natural gas needs. Europe is being deprived of Russian natural gas as a result of sanctions imposed by the West and Russian cutoffs, as well as a significant shift away from Russian suppliers.
Both Democratic and Republican parliamentarians praised Hochstein’s initiatives to wean Europe off of Russian pipelines and called for more.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, a Democrat who chairs the subcommittee Hochstein spoke before about Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, called climate change and clean energy “serious challenges.”
However, in my opinion, overthrowing Putin and supporting Ukraine should be our first priority.
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A global energy shortage and a warming Earth are two issues that the Biden administration has struggled to address at once.
Oil and gas supply shortages are posing issues for European and Asian allies that, if not resolved, could jeopardize the strength of the joint economic front against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At home, the lack of energy is a factor in high gas prices, inflation, and unhappiness, which pose a threat to Democrats in the midterm elections in November and to Biden’s eventual reelection.
