All for the Greater Good

Several years ago, Germany asked Russia for more gas. Russia said, ‘Да!’ And they built Nord Stream 2. But, under great pressure from the US, the German regulators have not approved Nord Stream 2 for gas, even though it’s complete. The US and NATO say Germany must sanction Russia and not buy Russian gas. And the regulators say they probably will never approve Nord Stream 2.

Meanwhile, the PRC wants to decarbonise, but desperately needs energy to provide for its 1.5 billion citizens, so they are digging coal mines like crazy and say they hope to reach peak coal in 2030, increasing their use of coal every year for the next 8 or 9 years.

As it turns out, there is a very happy solution: all that Russian gas should go to the PRC! Gas is a fossil fuel, but it produces much less CO₂ per megawatt hour than coal, so switching from PRC and Australian and DPRK coal to Russian gas is good for Russia, good for the PRC, and good for the planet! It’s a bit hard on the poorer NATO citizens who will have to pay twice as much for their gas, but it’s not Russia’s fault, it’s not the fault of the PRC, it’s entirely the fault of the NATO leaders who say they must sanction Russia.

Russian and the PRC need to start digging those pipelines NOW. And with PRC production values, it would not be that long before the PRC starts greatly reducing its CO₂ emissions while paying much less.

So I'm hoping they get started ASAP.