Despite more oil and gas from the US, we have to make do with less energy in Europe

Of course it is nice and a shame that there is again hard drilling for oil and gas in Texas. Nice, because that can alleviate some of the pain that the impending EU boycott of Russian oil (and later gas?) will cause. Too bad, because this is an ugly streak in the green agenda that US President Joe Biden had promised when he took office, as correspondent Thomas Rueb described in Saturday’s paper.

Need breaks the law, you could say: rising energy prices not only reduce the purchasing power of lower incomes in particular, but also have political consequences. High fuel prices are a potential source of discontent, playing into the hands of the more populist politicians in both the United States and Europe. The fact that Biden now suspends his climate plans may ultimately turn out better than sticking to them, resulting in a much more fossilized president in 2024. In Europe, too, the extra supply of American oil and gas could have a dampening effect on economic and political instability.

But it remains a pity and in several respects short-sighted. In any case, the consumption of fossil fuels is unsustainable – because of climate change, but also because raw materials are simply running out. The idea that this void can be filled with sustainable alternatives is a mirage. Yes, we may be able to generate our electricity with sun and wind, but making the rest of the (growing) global energy consumption more sustainable is an impossible task. We will have to do it with less energy.

The Russian war in Ukraine is an urgent first step in this direction. Because an EU boycott of Russian oil might still be somewhat cushioned in Western Europe with American and other oil, but the eastern member states without ports will have a hard time getting alternative oil – hence the resistance of Hungary and Slovakia. A boycott of Russian gas cannot be compensated at all with alternative suppliers, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said last week.

The only structural solution is to reduce. The Dutch government has already called on consumers to lower their heating and take shorter showers. But a broader strategy of less consumption in industry and transport (finally tax on kerosene?) is still lacking. While it is urgently needed. For now and for later.