<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/scott-bessent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scott Bessent</a>, President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s nominee for treasury secretary, responded to a Democratic lawmaker&#8217;s claim that the United States is facing off against China in an &#8220;arms race in clean energy.&#8221;
The <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1879956066835804387" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retort</a> occurred on Thursday during a confirmation hearing held by the Senate Finance Committee. Bessent responded to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who began his final question by touting the &#8220;biggest transformation on clean energy in American history&#8221;—an apparent reference to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Scott Bessent Blasts Democrats’ War On Fossil Fuels By Pointing To China" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZVD4rH0FayU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;That is our package that basically said the tax code as it relates to energy is a broken-down mess. And we basically said we&#8217;re going to have a technology-neutral system: the more you reduce carbon, the bigger your tax savings,&#8221; Wyden said.
&#8220;Now there is a big effort in the Trump administration to reverse it. I think that&#8217;s going to be bad for the economy, but it is going to be damn good for China because we are in an arms race in clean energy with them. Are you going to be on the side of people who want to unravel this?&#8221; he asked.
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&#8220;Sen. Wyden. Just so we can frame this for everyone in the room, China will build a hundred new coal plants this year. There is not a clean energy race, there is an energy race,&#8221; Bessent began.
&#8220;China will build 10 nuclear plants this year. That is not solar. I am in favor of more nuclear plants and I would note that the IRA as scored by the CBO is wildly out of control in terms of spending on the upside,&#8221; he added, referring to the Congressional Budget Office.
&#8220;Well, first of all, the clean energy package does protect nuclear because members on both sides of the aisle in this room wanted it to be that way,&#8221; Wyden replied.
&#8220;But if you&#8217;re going to talk about fossils, the United States has achieved a greater level of energy security than we&#8217;ve had in generations,&#8221; the senator continued. &#8220;Oil and gas production is at record highs. And it&#8217;s not just that, but it&#8217;s about clean energy. And I&#8217;m very troubled by your position denying that we&#8217;re in an arms race with China on clean energy, because we definitely are.&#8221;

Scott Bessent testifies

Treasury Nominee Scott Bessent Schools Dem Senator On ‘Energy Race’ With China

China

Congress

Donald Trump

Fossil Fuels

Politics

Presidential nomination

Scott Bessent

A radical environmental group uses millions of dollars from liberal dark money groups to try and teach climate activists how to talk like human beings.
The organization, Potential Energy Coalition, a 501(c)(3), <a href="https://potentialenergycoalition.org/our-approach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says it</a> “creates and executes marketing campaigns grounded in deep analytics and human-centric stories that are proven to persuade.”
One of Potential Energy’s projects is the “Talk Like a Human” campaign, an attempt to change messaging on climate change. A slide of this presentation obtained by The Daily Wire shows the group encouraging people not to use words like “climate change” or “warming,” and instead use “extreme weather” and “over heating [sic],” respectively. The group also suggests people no longer use the term “sacrifice” when talking about the subject and instead use words like “enjoy,” suggesting a more positive future than the doom and gloom typically associated with climate change activism.
<div id="attachment_830969" style="width: 293px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-830969" class="wp-image-830969 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/Climate-Glossary.png" alt="A glossary of terms for discussing climate change." width="283" height="262" />Potential Energy Coalition slideshow</div>
The organization also features a series of slides telling participants not to exaggerate and explains that while “climate crisis” and “climate emergency” work for people who are already terrified of climate change, it doesn’t work for people who are not. The slides also suggest keeping the phrasing tied to where a person lives rather than globally and talking about fighting pollution rather than climate change.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
<div id="attachment_830971" style="width: 218px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-830971" class="size-full wp-image-830971" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/Climate-Talk.png" alt="A slide detailing how to talk about climate change." width="208" height="176" />Potential Energy slideshow</div>
<div id="attachment_830975" style="width: 213px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-830975" class="size-full wp-image-830975" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/Climate-Change-Slide-4.png" alt="A slide detailing how to talk about climate change." width="203" height="210" />Potential Energy slideshow</div>
<div id="attachment_830977" style="width: 216px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-830977" class="size-full wp-image-830977" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/Climate-Change-Slide-6.png" alt="A slide detailing how to talk about climate change." width="206" height="252" />Potential Energy slideshow</div>
The organization was once <a href="https://hewlett.org/grants/windward-fund-for-the-potential-energy-coalition-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a sponsored project</a> of the Arabella Advisors dark money network’s Windward Fund before it spun off into its own separate nonprofit.
Still, Potential Energy continues to rake in millions of dollars from Arabella-managed groups, including $17.5 million in grants from the Windward Fund between <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/473522162/202203139349304570/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021</a> and <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/473522162/202323149349302457/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022</a>, and another <a href="https://www.windwardfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2023-Windward-Fund-Form-990-Public-Disclosure-Copy.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$13 million in 2023</a>. The Windward Fund paid Potential Energy nearly $2 million in consulting services between <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/473522162/202143169349311234/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020</a> and <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/473522162/202203139349304570/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021</a>.
Also in 2021, Potential Energy <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/green-groups-launch-10-million-ad-campaign-pressuring-biden-congress-n1261177">joined</a> other dark money groups, Climate Power and League of Conservation Voters, on a more than $10 million advertising campaign to urge President Joe Biden and Congress to pass a spending bill directed toward climate change. In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, which <a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/the-inflation-reduction-act-finally-gave-the-u-s-a-real-climate-change-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allocated billions toward climate change initiatives</a>.
Also in 2022, Potential Energy brought in <a href="https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/view_990/824652837/f38170272fb34ba0251a9ef52c500e81" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$38.6 million in revenue</a>, nearly doubling its 2021 revenue. Its spending also nearly doubled.
Despite this effort, polls continue to show people aren’t willing to give up oil and gas. An American Enterprise Institute <a href="https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Politics-Without-Winners-Can-Either-Party-Build-a-Majority-Coalition.pdf?x85095" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from October asked participants whether they wanted to “use a mix of energy sources including oil, coal, and natural gas along with renewable energy sources” or “phase out the use of oil, coal, and natural gas completely, relying instead on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power only.” By a 3-to-1 margin, participants backed the all-of-the-above approach.
Two-thirds of respondents in a September New York Times/Siena College <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/09/08/us/politics/times-siena-poll-likely-electorate-crosstabs.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> said they supported a policy of “increasing domestic production of fossil fuels such as oil and gas.” And an NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-voters-repelled-election-denial-overturning-roe-drawn-economic-pr-rcna175791" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from October found that 67% of respondents said they were more likely to support a candidate who wanted to expand fossil fuel production.

Save The Planet Protest

Backed By Millions In Liberal Dark Money, Group Teaches Climate Activists To ‘Talk Like a Human’

Backed By Millions In Liberal Dark Money, Group Teaches Climate Activists To 'Talk Like a Human'

Climate Change

Dark Money

Polls

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/protesters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Protesters</a> demonstrating against fossil fuels spray-painted Stonehenge in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/united-kingdom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Kingdom</a> on Wednesday.
A group called Just Stop Oil shared <a href="https://x.com/JustStop_Oil/status/1803390932848394570" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> on social media showing what it said were two &#8220;supporters&#8221; covering part of the megalith with orange powder paint around noon local time.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Just Stop Oil protesters spray the historic Stonehenge monument in orange paint <a href="https://t.co/RGWHG0RX3y">pic.twitter.com/RGWHG0RX3y</a>
&mdash; GB News (@GBNEWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1803398859579650547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;They are demanding that the incoming UK government commit to working with other governments to agree an equitable plan to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030,&#8221; the group <a href="https://juststopoil.org/2024/06/19/its-time-for-megalithic-action-just-stop-oil-decorate-stonehenge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Other people can be seen in the clip, which has garnered millions of views on X, intervening and taking away the fire extinguishers the protesters were using.
Wiltshire police <a href="https://x.com/wiltshirepolice/status/1803402484930535571" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> officers arrested two people following the incident in the afternoon.
&#8220;At around noon, we responded to a report that orange paint had been sprayed on some of the stones by two suspects,&#8221; Wiltshire police said. &#8220;Officers attended the scene and arrested two people on suspicion of damaging the ancient monument.&#8221;
Police <a href="https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/news/wiltshire/news/2024/june-2024/two-arrested-after-stonehenge-monument-damaged/">added</a>, &#8220;Our enquiries are ongoing, and we are working closely with English Heritage,&#8221; referring to the <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charity</a> that cares for hundreds of historical monuments, buildings, and places — including Stonehenge.
Just Stop Oil identified the protesters as a 21-year-old student from Oxford and a 73-year-old from Birmingham. The group noted the demonstration took place one day before the summer solstice is expected to draw thousands of people to the site.
&#8220;Orange powdered paint has been thrown at a number of the stones at Stonehenge. Obviously, this is extremely upsetting and our curators are investigating the extent of the damage,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EH_Stonehenge/status/1803403879100375052" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> an X account for Stonehenge run by English Heritage. &#8220;More updates to follow but the site remains open.&#8221;
Just Stop Oil claimed the orange powder paint was made of cornflour and should wash away in the rain.
BBC correspondent Paul Clifton, who <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw44mdee0zzo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> to the scene at Stonehenge after the incident, said he &#8220;heard a suggestion that because it is powder paint and the weather is dry and sunny, it may perhaps be removed without lasting damage, but they will need experts to inspect the stone before forming an opinion.&#8221;
In recent years, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-protest-last-generation-brandenburg-gate-paint-9518c67e688628c89e65e106e346b900" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate activists</a> have used paint to target various works of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-sentences-climate-activists-who-glued-themselves-to-painting-to-light-sentence-to-avoid-discouraging-future-protests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">art</a> in museums, <a href="https://www.fox29.com/news/climate-activists-spray-paint-private-plane-in-germany" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a private jet</a>, and <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/just-stop-oil-wellington-arch-london-orange-paint/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">monuments</a> in places across Europe.
The act of vandalism at Stonehenge drew some outrage from public officials, including U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. &#8220;Just Stop Oil are a disgrace,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/RishiSunak/status/1803411704753148081" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X.

iew of the Stone Age monument Stonehenge

Climate Activists Vandalize Stonehenge With Orange Paint

Energy

Protests

stone

United Kingdom

For several years now, it&#8217;s been clear that the Biden administration has been thinking about officially declaring a &#8220;climate emergency.&#8221; Beginning on the day Biden took office, several politicians have floated the <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/president-biden-shouldnt-declare-climate-change-national-emergency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">possibility</a> — and some have gone further than that.
The Democrats&#8217; leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, publicly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-biden-climate-emergency/biden-should-declare-national-emergency-on-climate-schumer-idUSW1N2BC01P/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> on Biden to make the declaration within a week of his inauguration. And ever since then, there have been <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/20/climate-emergency-biden-consequences-00046885" target="_blank" rel="noopener">articles</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-emergency-biden.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deep-dives</a> in various outlets, including Politico and The New York Times, suggesting that it&#8217;d be a really good idea to essentially go to war with the weather.
As of now, as his term winds down, Joe Biden has resisted all of these demands. Biden has said that he&#8217;s &#8220;practically&#8221; declared a climate emergency — signaling that he likes the idea — but he hasn&#8217;t actually gone ahead and done it. Even so, the demands have kept coming for several years — which is a little odd, when you think about it. The definition of the word &#8220;emergency&#8221; is: &#8220;a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action.&#8221; The very fact that you have to deliberate for three years about whether something is an emergency would seem to indicate that it is not.
So this is the most important point: There is not, in fact, a climate emergency — and everyone pushing this hysteria understands that very well. But they will never stop pretending this is an urgent crisis, because the moment they do that, they lose some measure of control over our lives.
The Biden administration&#8217;s flirtation with this whole idea also tells you something else, which is that the White House sees an emergency climate declaration as a potential nuclear option to deploy when they get really desperate. And with pretty much every major poll showing Donald Trump leading Joe Biden, that desperation has understandably now set in.
Right on cue, a climate emergency is now back on the agenda. According to Bloomberg, the White House is now seriously <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-17/white-house-renews-internal-talks-on-invoking-climate-emergency?embedded-checkout=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considering</a> the idea in the near future. CBS recently spoke to a Columbia climate professor about this. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="009 Biden Climate Emergency" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jpE7hZeAx5M?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So the administration, by declaring a climate emergency, would supposedly unlock massive new powers over the economy and especially the oil industry. Of course, the administration has already done everything it can to gut the energy sector in this country. They&#8217;ve <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/biden-suspends-oil-and-gas-drilling-in-series-of.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspended</a> new oil and gas leases; they&#8217;ve scrutinized and shut down many existing permits for the development of fossil fuels; and, just for good measure, they&#8217;ve <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/16/biden-oil-reserve-fuels-00121298#:~:text=Biden's%20administration%20sold%20off%20more,levels%20since%20the%20early%201980s." target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold off</a> much of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, just to make sure we&#8217;re as reliant as possible on foreign energy.
What Biden wants to do now is to adopt new powers to destroy the economy, which exceed the powers he’s already employed. Specifically, these new emergency powers would potentially <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-emergency-biden.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">include</a> the ability to ban all crude oil exports, indefinitely. Right now, we export millions of barrels of oil per day, accounting for tens of billions of dollars in revenue. All of that could disappear overnight in the event of an emergency climate declaration. Additionally, the Biden administration would be able to kill all new oil and gas drilling on more than 10 million acres of federal waters. They&#8217;d also be able to cut overseas investments in fossil fuels and greatly reduce imports and exports of fossil fuels.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1355-the-government-is-gearing-up-to-declare-a-climate-emergency-which-will-wipe-out-what-s-left-of-our-freedoms-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
That&#8217;s according to various media publications that have looked into the emergency powers already. But the truth is, once it declares a national emergency, the federal government can pretty much do what it wants. The courts give the alleged &#8220;experts&#8221; vast and completely undeserved deference. There are no guardrails in a national emergency. Everyone knows that after experiencing the COVID lockdowns (which, of course, were the pretext to the coming climate emergency). There were never any consequences for those lockdowns or mandates. There hasn’t really been any reckoning with the destruction those policies wrought on our lives. There’s been no accountability. Nobody even seems interested in talking about it. So now they&#8217;re doing it again. And make no mistake: If they can force the entire country to stay at home because of a virus — including young people, who are at virtually no risk from that virus — then they can absolutely restrict every single one of your freedoms in the name of &#8220;saving the climate.&#8221;
But just in case you needed confirmation, you can always look north to our perennially embarrassing neighbors in Canada. 
Several years ago, Canada&#8217;s government <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5401586/canada-national-climate-emergency/">declared</a> a national climate emergency. And just to drive the point home, several major cities within Canada, including Vancouver, declared their own climate emergencies. At the time, the idea behind this emergency was to enable the Canadian government to take steps to reduce the country&#8217;s carbon emissions — even though the entire country of Canada essentially emits zero carbon compared to the rest of the world. The whole country could commit mass suicide — which they’re sort of in the process of doing — and it would have no impact on global carbon emissions. Even so, Canada enacted a bunch of carbon taxes that made life even more expensive for its citizens.
It&#8217;s worth noting quickly — although I&#8217;ve made this point many times before — that even if you buy into the idea that carbon causes climate change, there is nothing that the U.S. — much less Canada — can do about it.
As Zach Weinberg <a href="https://x.com/zachweinberg/status/1783320440531783719">pointed</a> out this week, China and India comprise the vast majority of carbon emissions in the world. The U.S. accounts for less than 15% of carbon emissions, and we&#8217;re falling fast. Canada is well under 2%. So the whole idea of taxing carbon to reduce emissions and save the planet was always a scam, even if you subscribe to the Left&#8217;s theories on climate change.
But it was never going to stop there. Again, once you declare an emergency, without any clear way to solve it, things will continue to escalate. Give the government vast, undefined powers, and rights will continue to erode until they&#8217;re all gone. As Milton Friedman said, “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.” And Canada, once again, is a perfect example.
Earlier this year, in the name of saving the climate during this supposed emergency, Canadian legislators introduced a bill to suspend freedom of speech. Canada&#8217;s NDP party — which is a key part of the coalition keeping Justin Trudeau&#8217;s government in power — introduced legislation that would actually make it illegal to speak positively about fossil fuels.
Yes. That’s not an exaggeration. This legislation would make it illegal to express positive opinions about fossil fuels, in any context. 
As <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/ndp-bill-jail-terms-fossil-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canada&#8217;s National Post</a> states:
<blockquote>An NDP bill is seeking to criminalize the promotion of fossil fuels, and prescribe jail time even for Canadians who say scientifically true things — such as how burning natural gas is cleaner than burning coal. .. [the bill] goes well beyond merely banning advertising by oil and gas companies. &#8230; Violate this as a regular citizen, and the act prescribes summary conviction and a fine of up to $500,000. Violate it as an oil company, and the punishment could be as strict as two years in jail or a fine of $1,000,000.</blockquote>
Even after reading this article, I still couldn&#8217;t believe it, so I pulled up the text of the bill. And the <a href="https://x.com/thevivafrei/status/1782543641979809850">text</a> of the bill indeed says that, 
<blockquote>It is prohibited for a person to promote a fossil fuel or the production of a fossil fuel… (b) in a manner that states or suggests that a fossil fuel or the practices of a producer of the fossil fuel industry would lead to positive outcomes in relation to the environment, the health of Canadians, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples or the Canadian or global economy.</blockquote>
So basically, private citizens who say anything good about fossil fuels can be fined $500,000, which is enough of a fine to completely bankrupt 95% of Canada&#8217;s population for life. You can&#8217;t even say the Indians would benefit from fossil fuels, even though many Indians in Canada would disagree with that statement.
To be clear, this is not one rogue politician introducing this bill. Canada&#8217;s federal Minister of the Environment and Climate Change has <a href="https://ca.news.yahoo.com/ndp-calls-ban-misleading-deceptive-213156982.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he &#8220;welcomes&#8221; the bill. And various members of Canada&#8217;s public health establishment have endorsed it.
Take a look at this press conference from the NDP announcing this legislation. It&#8217;s like something out of a satire film, but it&#8217;s real. It&#8217;s not overstating things to say this is the single most demented press conference to occur in the Western world in at least the last decade. At the very least, it&#8217;s in the top 5. Here&#8217;s just some of it:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="010 NDP MP Charlie Angus On Fosil Fuels" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8gqxHWlUg9c?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Apparently, everyone knows their kids can&#8217;t even go outside in Canada without choking on fossil fuels. That&#8217;s the position of a member of Canada&#8217;s parliament, who again, is trying to put Canadians in prison — and bankrupt them — if they disagree with him.
I listened to that whole press conference, even though it was excruciating because they spoke in French for half of it. It was a half-hour of Canadian public health &#8220;experts&#8221; and politicians saying that they&#8217;re right, and everyone who disagrees with them needs to be jailed. Keep in mind, everyone promoting this legislation got every conceivable aspect of COVID wrong. But they have no shame, only a desire for more power. So they&#8217;re back. Everything is a &#8220;public health&#8221; emergency now, even the weather.
The press conference concluded with a question-and-answer session with Canadian media, which was even more surreal, somehow. None of the journalists seemed outraged in any way by what they had just heard. Instead, they mostly asked procedural questions about when the bill might come up for a vote. In fact, one reporter even asked if Russia was helping the fossil fuel companies spread disinformation. If you want to lose all faith in Western democracy, I recommend you go to YouTube and pull up the footage from this press conference yourself. It&#8217;s almost unbelievable.
The point of talking about Canada isn&#8217;t to suggest that we should care about Canada. That would be absurd. The whole country just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/canadas-mass-graves-hoax-is-yet-another-fabricated-narrative-to-demonize-christians">pretended</a> that sewage sites were burial grounds for children, in order to justify burning dozens of churches. This is not a serious or ethical place we&#8217;re talking about. And the Canadian people have mostly given up on their country and on themselves, so good riddance. Let the country burn. This is what they want and they deserve to get it good and hard.
But Canada does have one purpose, which is to serve as a bellwether of what we can expect in this country if we get too complacent. If we allow Joe Biden to declare a &#8220;climate emergency,&#8221; then he won&#8217;t simply dismantle the energy sector in this country and destroy our economy. Give him a few years, and he&#8217;ll throw you in prison if you complain about it. (Or at least, his successor will). Those are the stakes.
It&#8217;s not worth going through how climate activists have lied for generations about the &#8220;emergency&#8221; — I&#8217;ve <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chqcyf0Y35g">done</a> that many times before, as have many others. At this point, they know they&#8217;re liars, which is why their ultimate goal is to silence you. That&#8217;s why Joe Biden wants to declare his climate emergency. Unless we want to end up like Canada, which is a fate worse than death, we have to prevent it from happening.

President Biden Returns To White House From Florida

The Government Is Gearing Up To Declare A ‘Climate Emergency,’ Which Will Wipe Out What’s Left Of Our Freedoms

Canada

Joe Biden

Matt Walsh

Oil and Gas

Opinion

Readers Pass

Unless you’re a climate warrior or an energy wonk, you probably weren’t aware of last week’s end of the 28th edition of the “Council of the Parties,” better known as COP28, held this year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Don’t be surprised if you weren’t one of over 84,000 delegates – more than double the previous record – who got an invite. It’s probably because you are not a raging hypocrite. COP28 attendees spent the better part of two weeks in deep discussion over the “existential threat” of a so-called “climate crisis,” and how the world needs to respond before it is too late to save the planet from imminent doom.
When you add to the expansive delegate count the thousands more non-delegate support staff, media, climate-warrior groupies, and casual onlookers, the ultimate outcome is that <a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/COP28.PLOP__0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over 100,000</a> people – who all claim to love Mother Earth more than anything – felt the need to inundate Dubai rather than jump on Zoom sessions or conference calls to discuss how to save the planet. Remember, Zoom is good enough for kids locked out of schools, but not good enough for climate junkets.
Delegates spent two weeks in Dubai staying in 5-star resorts, feasting on gourmet meals, drinking top-shelf alcohol, being driven around in stretch limousines, “laboring” in air-conditioned conference facilities, and engaging in unknown debauchery when not working to rid the earth of traditional energy solutions, like coal, oil, and natural gas.
When not engaged in extracurricular activities, COP28’s delegates created a bunch of work-product to justify their junket.
First on the menu, pun intended, was an <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/11/28/lifestyle/un-calling-on-americans-to-cut-down-on-meat-consumption/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">effort to cancel meat</a>. Keep in mind, they just want to cancel your holiday meal, not their own. Then, the delegations <a href="https://unfccc.int/event/adaptation-fund-high-level-contributor-dialogue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pledged</a> hundreds of millions of dollars toward helping developing nations impacted by the “crisis.” Forget that these dollars will never be used to help those nations grow their GDPs nor their energy independence; instead, the World Bank will administer the money to the ruling class in those countries. What could possibly go wrong giving more money and power to the elite?   
The most celebrated output from COP28 was a <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/cop28-agreement-signals-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era" target="_blank" rel="noopener">final agreement</a> calling for the “beginning of the end” of all fossil fuel development. This “global stockade” – signed by delegations representing more than 200 countries is, according to the United Nations, the vehicle by which “[p]arties take actions towards…the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner&#8230;”
Let’s take this in for a minute: 84,000 delegates spent two weeks living in luxury, and their takeaway was that fossil fuels – which, between coal, natural gas, and oil power over 80% of the world today – are the enemy of the planet?
News flash: none of the climate hypocrites, COP28 delegates, would be meeting in Dubai in the first place without fossil fuels. None of them – not a single one – made it there, stayed there, communicated to their home countries, families or each other while there, enjoyed their lavish lifestyle while there or made it home from there without direct or byproduct use of fossil fuels.
So, the next time you hear about the good work being done at the COP events – and make no mistake, we’ll see COP29, COP 39, COP49, and so on – remember that they are giant parties designed to bring powerful, wealthy ideologues together to rage against the very products that have made their powerful, wealthy lives possible.
COP should stand for the “Council of the Pointless.”
* * *
Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Contact him at Rick@PowerTheFuture.com and follow him on X: @PTFAlaska.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

COP28 UNFCCC Climate Conference:  High-Level Segment Day One

Why Dubai’s COP28 Should Be Called ‘Council Of The Pointless’

Why Dubai's COP28 Should Be Called 'Council Of The Pointless'

Bill Gates

Dubai

John Kerry

meat

With many critics of Israel insisting the Jewish state supply fuel to Gaza, NBC News is reporting what had been widely suspected: Despite the risk to their citizens in Gaza hospitals, Hamas is hoarding fuel so it can keep its terrorists in underground tunnels from having to rise to the surface.
“Hamas is stockpiling 200,000 gallons of fuel to supply rockets and support electricity for its elaborate network of underground tunnels. This as hospitals and relief organizations in Gaza warn they’re perilously low on fuel,” NBC’s Chief White House Correspondent Peter Alexander reported on Thursday morning.
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NBC News: Hamas is stockpiling 200,000 gallons of fuel to supply rockets and support electricity for its elaborate network of underground tunnels. This as hospitals and relief organizations in Gaza warn they’re perilously low on fuel.<a href="https://t.co/otBxYjkW4P">https://t.co/otBxYjkW4P</a>
&mdash; Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/1720063841504047604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Instead of crying wolf, humanitarian organizations in Gaza should demand Hamas provide them with fuel and supplies. Hamas has stockpiled fuel to use for fighting Israel instead of powering water pumps and hospitals for Gazans. As spoken on <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsNation?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NewsNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/mAlGlKeODB">pic.twitter.com/mAlGlKeODB</a>
&mdash; Jonathan Conricus (@jconricus) <a href="https://twitter.com/jconricus/status/1717299109193732549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Hamas’ lack of concern for the fate of civilians in Gaza has been demonstrated in various ways. The terrorist organization routinely stations its command centers in civilian areas so any Israeli attack would engender condemnation. On Wednesday, Ynet <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bk4yhmlq6?utm_source=taboola&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=internal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Hamas pushed roughly 100 women and children forward to serve as human barriers near Jabaliya as soldiers of the Givati Infantry Brigade fought Hamas’s elite Force 17.
As far back as March 2019, Hamas turned on Palestinians protesting the terrorist group’s draconian rule over Gaza. At that time, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/24/world/middleeast/gaza-protests-hamas.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> that a 19-year-old vendor who joined “the peaceful protests in the Jabaliya refugee camp” said that security forces from Hamas beat and punched him. “The second day, he was detained and held for five days, during which he said he was slapped, beaten and deprived of food,” The Times added.
The Times continued:
<blockquote>
Hamas security forces moved quickly to quell the protests that brought hundreds of people into the streets in at least four camps and towns across Gaza this month to demand better living conditions.
The security forces beat demonstrators, raided homes and detained organizers, journalists and participants, about 1,000 people in all. Along with the uniformed officers, masked, plainclothes Hamas enforcers armed with pistols, batons and wooden rods attacked the protesters, according to witnesses, and prevented journalists and human rights workers from documenting the events. Since then, many Gazans say they have been living under a pall of fear — not of Israel this time but of Hamas.
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In 2014, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/hamas-quietly-admits-it-fired-rockets-from-civilian-areas/380149/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Atlantic</a> noted, “Hamas Quietly Admits It Fired Rockets from Civilian Areas.” One year later, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-mayors-request-urgent-meeting-with-biden-over-influx-of-illegal-immigrants-into-their-cities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a> stated, “Hamas stored mortars and other weapons in at least three U.N. schools during last summer’s war and fired rockets at Israel from two of them.”

Shortages Worsen Under Israeli Embargo

Hamas Hoarding Fuel To Keep Terrorists In Tunnels While Its Hospitals Run Low: Report

Hamas

Hospitals

Palestinians

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/montana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Montana</a> judge on Monday sided with 16 young climate activists in a case dealing with the state&#8217;s fossil fuel permits.
District Court Judge Kathy Seeley ruled that the state&#8217;s approval process for fossil fuel permits violates Montana&#8217;s state constitution because it does not take into account the effects of carbon emissions.
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&#8220;Montana&#8217;s emissions and climate change have been proven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana&#8217;s environment,&#8221; Seeley <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66505659" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. &#8220;Plaintiffs have proven that as children and youth, they are disproportionately harmed by fossil fuel pollution and climate impacts.&#8221;
The plaintiffs, who are between ages five and 22, sued the state, claiming Montana&#8217;s fossil fuel policies contribute to climate change.
Their lawsuit cited a 1972 clause in Montana&#8217;s constitution that says &#8220;the state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.&#8221;
Monday&#8217;s ruling means Montana must start taking climate change into account when deciding whether to approve fossil fuel projects such as power plants. The state originally made it illegal to consider “actual or potential impacts that are regional, national, or global in nature” in fossil fuel project decisions back in 2011.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, a Republican, plans to appeal the ruling.
“This ruling is absurd, but not surprising from a judge who let the plaintiffs’ attorneys put on a weeklong taxpayer-funded publicity stunt that was supposed to be a trial,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/us/montana-youth-climate-ruling.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.
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“Montanans can’t be blamed for changing the climate,” she said.
Montana has a long history of producing and relying on coal and gas for electricity and exports. The state has the largest coal reserves in the country, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=MT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about</a> 30% of the nation&#8217;s total, and in 2021 produced about 5% of the nation&#8217;s coal.
&#8220;This is a huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy, and for our climate. More rulings like this will certainly come,&#8221; said Julia Olson, the founder of Our Children’s Trust, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the young plaintiffs.
Olson said the case marks a &#8220;turning point&#8221; in this generation&#8217;s efforts to &#8220;save the planet.&#8221;
Rikki Held, 22, was the lead plaintiff in the case. She grew up on her family&#8217;s 7,000-acre ranch in Montana and said she has witnessed extreme weather, flooding, and wildfires that have impacted crops and livestock on the ranch, which she believes are caused by climate change.
“I just have a lot of hope for the future,” Held <a href="https://www.wvxu.org/2023-08-15/lead-youth-plaintiff-on-unbelievable-victory-in-constitutional-climate-case-against-montana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> of the decision. “With decisions like this and all of the other court cases coming, there’s going to be a change. It’s just a matter of time now.”
Young people in other states have sued over what they say are the negative effects of climate change as well. Although similar lawsuits have been brought in the past, the Montana case was the first of its kind to go to trial.
A case in Hawaii <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/montana-youth-victory-could-spur-momentum-on-other-climate-cases/#:~:text=Youth%20plaintiffs%20in%20the%20Hawaii,the%20young%20people%27s%20constitutional%20rights." target="_blank" rel="noopener">involves</a> young plaintiffs who sued over the state&#8217;s transportation system, which they say causes excessive greenhouse gas emissions and violates the young people&#8217;s constitutional rights.
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USA – Energy – Colstrip Coal-Fired Power Plant

Judge Hands Win To 16 Young Climate Activists In Montana

Courts

Environment

Montana

Critics mocked Congressman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/she-aint-worth-it-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-intervenes-in-verbal-confrontation-between-marjorie-taylor-greene-and-jamaal-bowman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jamaal Bowman</a> (D-NY) for his comments suggesting that fossil fuels were the cause of extreme weather.
Bowman joined CNN anchor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wolf-blitzer-to-karine-jean-pierre-is-biden-setting-himself-up-for-failure-by-focusing-on-abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wolf Blitzer</a> to discuss the imminent debt ceiling deal, and the New York congressman said that his real concern was the fact that the United States was still allowing drilling for fossil fuels. He then attempted to draw a straight line from fossil fuel use to extreme weather events.
WATCH:
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Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman: &quot;We need to stop drilling for fossil fuels completely &#8230; we need an expedited way to get us to clean, renewable energy, or we will continue to have these severe weather events.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/PGlq7knU0N">pic.twitter.com/PGlq7knU0N</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1663534402260045825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Number one, we need to stop drilling for fossil fuels completely,&#8221; Bowman told Blitzer. &#8220;But number two, we need an expedited way to get us to clean, renewable energy, or we will continue to have these severe weather events that we have been having for quite some time because of the warming of the planet.&#8221;
Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) pushed back on Bowman&#8217;s claim, arguing that the New Yorker&#8217;s proposition would bankrupt the American energy sector. &#8220;Far left Democrats are doubling down on policies that would destroy the American energy sector and hurt hardworking Americans struggling through 40-year-high inflation,&#8221; he tweeted.
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Far left Democrats are doubling down on policies that would destroy the American energy sector and hurt hardworking Americans struggling through 40-year-high inflation. <a href="https://t.co/zg16UFt7ZX">https://t.co/zg16UFt7ZX</a>
&mdash; Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianKempGA/status/1663583530041868293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Others addressed Bowman&#8217;s claims in more mocking tones.
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&#8220;It&#8217;s sort of fun that people have come all the way around on Rain Dances, at least,&#8221; Logan Dobson <a href="https://twitter.com/LoganDobson/status/1663540502640066563" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in response.
&#8220;&#8216;We must cripple all domestic energy production so the sun God may bring us good weather!&#8217; The climate cult is completely insane,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/ComfortablySmug/status/1663540042927579137" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> @comfortablysmug.
Radio host Jesse Kelly <a href="https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1663542344388411392" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed out</a> the fact that cutting out fossil fuels — especially without the technology and infrastructure already in place to make up the difference in available energy — was a recipe for disaster on a massive scale.
&#8220;REMINDER: This is a call for genocide. Start treating these people like the biggest genocidal monsters in human history. Because that’s what they are. Humanity runs on oil and gas. You cannot declare war on oil and gas without war on humanity itself,&#8221; he said.

Grammys On The Hill: Advocacy Day

Jamaal Bowman Says Fossil Fuels Are Causing Bad Weather – And People Have Thoughts

Jamaal Bowman

Wolf Blitzer

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-manchin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Manchin</a> (D-WV) upped the ante in his spat with the Biden administration over the Inflation Reduction Act.
Manchin appeared with Sean Hannity on Fox News Monday night. In the interview, the moderate Democrat complained that the Biden administration and Democrats had neglected the commitments to develop new oil and gas projects he secured in exchange for his vote on the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act. If the Biden administration continued to neglect American energy security, Manchin threatened to vote to repeal the act he helped to pass.
“They broke their word to the American public,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AodfJFI9zgs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manchin</a> told Hannity, noting that the original draft of the bill he wrote would have cost $684 billion over 10 years, and $384 billion was for energy production.
Manchin went on to stress that the United States has the natural resources to become energy independent. &#8220;We have the gas, and we have the oil, and we have the coal,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We can do it better and cleaner than anywhere in the world. And so, this piece of legislation was balanced. [In the next] 10 years, we are going to have enough fossil [fuel] to run our country and to help our allies around the world, and we will also be investing in new technology for the future. Now, they have disregarded this completely, what was agreed upon, and they know exactly what we agreed upon. This was energy security, and we have not heard a word about energy security out of their mouths since it was passed. It’s all about environment.”
Manchin concluded by saying that if the administration continues to neglect energy production, he will do everything in his power to stop the administration from implementing the law, even if it means voting to repeal the bill he cast the deciding vote for. “If this administration does not honor what they said they would do and continue to liberalize that — $384 billion is what we are supposed to invest in over 10 years, and they blow that out of the water and its six or seven or eight hundred — I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And if they don’t change, then I would vote to repeal my own bill.&#8221;
In recent weeks, Manchin has repeatedly clashed with the Biden administration over the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. In March, Manchin penned an op-ed for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-inflation-reduction-act-betrayal-joe-manchin-debt-ceiling-budget-fossil-fuels-green-energy-dc37738e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a> decrying how the administration was redefining the law to favor green energy projects over fossil fuels. “[T]hey are ignoring the law’s intent to support and expand fossil energy and are redefining ​’​domestic energy​’​ to increase clean-energy spending to potentially deficit-breaking levels,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;The administration is attempting at every turn to implement the bill it wanted, not the bill Congress actually passed​.”
Manchin has also blasted the administration over its new regulations for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/manchin-blasts-biden-admin-over-new-ev-tax-credit-regulations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric vehicle</a> tax credits that would reduce the number of vehicles that qualify, while also making America more dependent on foreign supply chains. He also called <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/manchin-calls-epas-push-for-electric-cars-a-trojan-horse-to-increase-dependence-on-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EPA regulations</a> intended to boost EV sales a “Trojan horse” to increase America’s reliance on China for critical minerals.
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Manchin&#8217;s sudden criticism comes as West Virginia Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/west-virginia-gop-governor-set-to-launch-senate-campaign-for-joe-manchins-seat-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Justice</a> announced a run for Senate to oppose him. Justice joins Rep. Alex Mooney in the primary to oust Manchin, who narrowly avoided defeat in 2018.

Representative Tim Ryan And Senator Joe Manchin Visit Pike County Ahead Of Midterm Elections

Manchin Ups The Ante In Feud With Biden Admin, Threatens To Repeal Inflation Reduction Act

Biden Administration

Inflation Reduction Act

Joe Manchin

“The world needs more fossil fuels,” according to Alex Epstein, founder of the Center for Industrial Progress. Epstein argues that the benefits of energy sources such as oil, coal, and natural gas far outweigh the costs.
Pushing back against the claims that we must transition to renewables and away from fossil fuels, Epstein argued that for any course of action, we must consider whether the positive outcomes are more substantial than the corresponding negative outcomes. 

“The reason that most so-called experts — including many climate scientists — are against fossil fuels is that they violate this principle.”
Epstein’s argument hinged on the following eight points:
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<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Cost-effective energy is essential to human flourishing.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Billions of people are suffering and dying for lack of energy.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Fossil fuels are uniquely cost-effective.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Fossil fuel energy neutralizes climate danger.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Global warming has been mild and manageable.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Warmer temperatures will save lives.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The greenhouse effect is a diminishing phenomenon.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Projected climate impacts can be managed with fossil fuels.</li>
</ol>
Fossil fuels currently account for about 80% of global energy production — and energy is used in the production of almost every good and service on earth. The rise of cheap and available energy has fueled rapid economic growth and a marked decline in rates of extreme poverty around the world.
Despite that, there are still areas where people live on less than $2 a day and face the grim specters of famine and disease — which could be alleviated by better food production and medicine facilitated by electric power and the technology that uses it.
Epstein notes that fossil fuels are cheaper and more reliable than most extant alternatives. Solar and wind are limited by weather conditions and require extensive backup systems, usually powered by fossil fuels, and ultimately drive up costs.
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Furthermore, Epstein notes that rather than causing a climate crisis, the use of fossil fuels has enabled better construction techniques and a more rapid emergency response, saving countless lives from natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes.
“Climate disaster deaths are down 98% over the last century,” Epstein says.
Fossil fuels also power complex irrigation systems that help farmers weather droughts, and a higher concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere promotes plant growth. Furthermore, cold conditions kill far more people than heat — central heating saves many lives, but rising global temperatures could save even more.
“Mainstream climate science says that warming will be concentrated in colder places — northern latitudes, at colder times — night, and at colder seasons,” Epstein noted, saying that these findings were good news because “fewer people will die from cold in the coldest places.”
Epstein also argued that climate data show that the greenhouse effect caused by CO2 has a diminishing margin of returns, and that existing technology such as air conditioning, dikes, and levees could protect vulnerable communities from the effects of climate change.
“As CO2 levels rise, warming slows down and levels off,” Epstein said. “This is mainstream climate science, but it’s rarely communicated to the general public because it contradicts the climate catastrophe narrative.”
WATCH:
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Alex Epstein

WATCH: Fossil Fuels: The Big Picture

PragerU

Worldwide <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">carbon</a> emissions reached their highest levels in world history last year as much of the planet doubled down on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fossil-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fossil fuels</a> even as Western nations pushed a transition toward renewable <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">energy</a>.
Emissions of carbon dioxide rose 0.9% in 2022 after increasing at a record 6% in 2021, according to an <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-in-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from the International Energy Agency. Coal emissions rose 1.6% as the worldwide energy shortage induced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused nations in Asia and Europe to pivot from natural gas to coal power, while oil emissions rose 2.5% as the aviation industry continued to recover following governmental lockdown mandates.
International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/global-co2-emissions-rose-less-than-initially-feared-in-2022-as-clean-energy-growth-offset-much-of-the-impact-of-greater-coal-and-oil-use" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that the rise in carbon dioxide emissions occurred despite the worldwide increase in green energy usage. He noted that “fossil fuel companies are making record revenues and need to take their share of responsibility” by aligning themselves with “meaningful emissions reductions.”
The Asia Pacific with the exception of China increased emissions by 229 megatons between 2021 and 2022, far exceeding the 100 megaton increase in North America and canceling out the 138 megaton reduction in Europe. “Over half of the region’s increase in emissions came from coal-fired power generation,” the analysis said.
The decreased emissions in Europe came as a result of disrupted oil and natural gas supplies from Russia, which resulted in a tenfold increase in energy prices compared to normal levels, and a mild winter during which citizens used less power for heating than usual. Countries such as France and Spain have asked or <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/french-president-calls-for-10-cut-in-energy-use-will-ration-power-as-a-last-resort" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mandated</a> residents to reduce energy consumption. The emissions growth in the United States and Asia came amid extreme temperatures in the former and “rapid economic and energy demand growth” in the latter.
China, which only recently eliminated its aggressive nationwide lockdown mandates, saw a 23 megaton reduction in emissions last year. The nation was responsible for 26.1% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions as of 2018, according to <a href="https://www.c2es.org/content/international-emissions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the International Energy Agency, surpassing the 13.4% of worldwide emissions produced by the United States and the 7.6% of worldwide emissions produced by members of the European Union.
Chinese authorities nevertheless <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-is-full-steam-ahead-with-new-coal-plants-as-the-west-goes-green" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> 106 gigawatts of new coal power projects in 2022, more than quadrupling the 23 gigawatts approved in 2021 and sextupling the increases planned by the rest of the world combined, according to an <a href="https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/china-permits-two-new-coal-power-plants-per-week-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Skeptics of governments which encourage the renewable energy transition have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wall-street-journal-blasts-joe-biden-john-kerry-for-pushing-self-destructive-green-energy-policies-while-china-burns-more-coal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed</a> that higher emissions from China, as well as India and developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, are outpacing emissions declines in the West. Western nations have nevertheless advanced landmark climate bills in recent years to decrease their carbon emissions.
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The European Union approved €1.8 trillion, the equivalent of roughly $1.9 trillion, with the European Green Deal three years ago in order to make member states climate neutral by 2050. Some $369 billion in climate initiatives was likewise approved in the Inflation Reduction Act last year; President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/07/statement-by-president-biden-on-senate-passage-of-the-inflation-reduction-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the legislation would make “the largest investment ever in combating the existential crisis of climate change” and create jobs through the manufacturing of “solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.”

CHINA-ECONOMY-COAL

Worldwide Carbon Emissions Reached Highest Level In History Even As Western Countries Spent Billions On Green Policies

Worldwide Carbon Emissions Reached Highest Level In History

Carbon Emissions

World

&#8220;The world faces a serious crisis: one that will ruin whole economies and lead to needless suffering and death. The crisis is related to climate change, but not in the way you&#8217;re probably thinking.&#8221;
Alex Epstein, author of &#8220;Fossil Future,&#8221; argues that a global energy shortage brought on by various climate policies is devastating the global economy. Fossil fuels currently provide 80% of the world&#8217;s energy, and the price of energy affects every other good in the supply chain, making rising fuel prices a major contributor to worldwide inflation, which is currently at record highs. In the United States, the average rate of year-over-year inflation was <a href="https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/">8%</a>, in the United Kingdom it was <a href="https://www.rateinflation.com/inflation-rate/uk-inflation-rate/">over 9%</a>, and in <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/15/in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world-inflation-is-high-and-getting-higher/">Turkey</a>, the rate of inflation reached a staggering 54.8% in 2022.
&#8220;A shortage of anything leads to higher prices,&#8221; Epstein explains. &#8220;That&#8217;s just basic economics.&#8221;
Many governments, especially in the West, have restricted the production and use of fossil fuels. Epstein argued that these policies will result in many preventable deaths &#8211; more people die from extreme cold than extreme heat, so that in the winter months even people in affluent countries freeze to death due to insufficient warmth. Higher energy costs mean higher heating costs, which could lead to thousands of preventable deaths.
Epstein observed that the economic impact of the fossil fuel shortage is disproportionately felt by poorer countries, who are outbid by wealthier nations for what supplies remain. Europe, for example, has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-households-must-cut-power-usage-this-winter-energy-agency-says">imposed widespread rationing of electricity</a> in the last year, but poorer nations in Southeast Asia such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-tens-of-millions-experience-major-blackout-in-pakistan">Pakistan</a> and <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20221004-most-of-bangladesh-plunged-into-darkness-after-national-grid-failure">Bangladesh</a> have experienced widespread blackouts during the same period.
The cost of fossil fuels has an especially profound effect on the price of food, as natural gas is a key component of many types of fertilizer and most farming equipment runs on diesel. Epstein cites a report from the World Farmers organization that states food prices are 78% higher than they were in 2021. In many parts of the developing world, farmers are currently unable to afford fertilizer, and even some who can afford it struggle to access limited supplies, putting many vulnerable populations at risk of malnutrition and starvation.
In Europe, energy shortages have become so severe that some firms in heavy industry have <a href="https://europe.autonews.com/suppliers/europes-auto-production-crashes-flow-wire-harnesses-dries">shut down</a>, and some may never reopen.
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Government-induced shortages of fossil fuels and derivative products such as fertilizer were also major drivers of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sri-lankas-president-flees-the-country-amid-mass-uprising">recent revolution in Sri Lanka,</a> which saw desperate protestors storm the presidential palace and send several of their nation&#8217;s leaders into exile.
Epstein argued that while climate change was a real phenomenon, the more pressing global crisis was an artificial shortage of fossil fuels, not greenhouse gases, and that intermittent power sources such as solar and wind could not feasibly replace them.
WATCH:
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Fuel price graph

WATCH: PragerU Releases ‘The Real Climate Crisis’

WATCH: PragerU Releases 'The Real Climate Crisis'

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