Finance Monthly - December 2021

18 Finance Monthly. Bus i ne s s & Economy transfer it into renewable is fraught with difficulties. Every investor on the planet now wants to finance and buy renewable power assets, but that means they finance the simple, easy and swiftest returns; like solar and wind power. These are proven and now produced in such numbers the costs of Wind and Solar power have tumbled. One of the reasons gas prices across Europe have spiked is because the weather in October was calm. As energy demand rose for the autumn, the wind farms came up empty. The reality is wind and solar are easy, but hopeless inefficient sources of energy compared to more expensive renewable power sources. Hydro and tidal power are far more reliable but currently cost more. That cost will only fall if they see wider adoption. This leads to the fifth problem – fooling ourselves. The reality is lifetime carbon savings from wind, electric cars, and other “feel-good” solutions are discounted in the effort to be seen doing something. Ultimately, to really cut the carbon load in the economy we probably need a Manhattan Project magnitude effort to innovate new energy-dense technologies in terms of capacitance (batteries) and nuclear power – eventually leading to fusion. Unlimited fusion could solve all our issues – but that’s what we said back in the 1950s after the first hydrogen bombs! Pragmatists understand a complete restructuring of global energy provision can’t happen overnight. It took 200 years for the world to industrialise and destabilise the climate. With the right political push and incentives, we have the wit and wisdom, and innovative capacity to make it cleaner over the next 30-50 years. We are an inventive species, and we may actually succeed in making things better. Just not overnight. “This leads to the fifth problem – fooling ourselves. The reality is lifetime carbon savings from wind, electric cars, and other “feel-good” solutions are discounted in the effort to be seen doing something.”