"Green" policies are destroying this country

Anyone know why they are shutting down the wind farm in Galway? (In the middle of an energy crisis)

I think it has about 70 wind turbines. Not sure if it’s a planning permission issue or a health and safety issue or something else

Local politics aside, there is a major tectonic shift in the world, it's being split in two, the globalisation we have known since the collapse of the Berlin wall is breaking down. This caught my eye today, the sanctions against Russia have backfired. I'm not getting into the rights and wrongs of the war, there is another thread for that.

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) is a payment system that allows banks across the globe to send messages and communicate securely and instantly about cross-border payments. China has its Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) and now that Russia has been kicked out of SWIFT, CIPS is going to be the option for that country into the future. What has a payments processing system got to do with Green policies, nothing directly. Did you ever hear of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)? Maybe not, just note there is an alternative trading network to any dependent on Europe.

We have a situation whereby ourselves in Europe need energy, but are cut off by one of the largest suppliers of fossil fuels, neither is this a cause for celebration for the Greens, most of the solar panels come from China. Want to open a lithium mine in Europe? guess again. Most of the worlds Lithium, batteries are made in China, Japan & South Korea.

The United States is facing an internal civil conflict developing over the course of the rest of the decade, it can support the proxy war in Ukraine for the moment, that cannot continue beyond the next election cycle (2024, Putins term is also up) . President Putin is also in a bind, The Russian governing elite cannot lose, neither can they win, they can drag this out, possibly for years.

What are European politicians options? Capitulation or take a more direct line of attack against Russia? Whether to admit their mistake or distract the attention of angry populations by sending us to war? What happens to the value of the Euro against the Dollar or the Rouble? What happens to that sovereign debt crisis the EU papered over via the ECB? The ECBs quantitative easing and negative interest rates have been played out since 2014. Who is going to buy up European sovereign debt? Quite a conundrum and way above my pay grade to resolve.

Back to green policies. The EU launched the European Green new deal as their five year economic plan (2019-2024)

In the course of the plan they want to reduce energy consumption and food production in Europe. Nothing in that addresses the cost of living or inflation wrought by previous policies, in fact it exacerbates the current problems. That 1.8 trillion is why the establishment in Ireland are rowing in behind green policies, as you expect they want some of that action.

An Bord Pleanala are completely independent though are supposed to take government policy into account in their decision making.

Headline today in the Irish Independent : "Eamon Ryan doubles down on opposition to new Shannon gas facility, despite crisis in Ukraine"

And that decision is potentially this week you say ?

Sheer coincidence that Ryan has come out with that statement yet again this week. Nothing at all I`m sure can be construed from that other than he is simply expressing his own opinion. Nothing whatsoever to do with him being the government Minister responsible for energy where An Bord Pleanala are shortly due to make a decision on an energy related manner where they are supposed to take government policy into account.

The man is shameless and absolute disgrace as a Minister who should be stripped of his portfolios for that attempted influence alone.

Once again, excellent points. I haven't seen a better analysis on many platforms let alone this one which i regard as a kinda pub+, hence my dubious use of language.

One thing to add to your post: one should see the fall of the Berlin wall in context of the breakdown of Bretton Woods and the US lead world order (actually its more the other way around). US in retreat. Anyway, things perfectly explained by Peter Zeihan like here:

i bought his book: 'the end of the world is just the beginning' afterwards.

A good writer AND speaker.

I`m no defender of Michael Martin, but the view he expressed was not the opposite.

He did not say he supported the private Shannon LNG terminal proposal. In fact he said he would not give support for any specific plan such as the Shannon LNG terminal. What he did say is that the Government will have to consider LNG project to address the energy crisis in Ireland.

Just more two faced hypocrisy from Ryan and the green. We have a global crisis so little old Ireland should change our planning laws to allow more wind farms and solar farms to save the planet, yet LNG terminals are no way related to our energy crisis and Ryan, a government Minister, believes he is above a collective Government decision of the Shannon LNG and can go shoting his mouth off on his opposition to it attempting to influence a planning decision.

If anyone his pulling the piss it`s Ryan and the greens making a mockery of collective Cabinet decision. Martin should sack the clown first thing tomorrow morning. Ministers have been sacked for less.

Just came across this thread ....

Looking back from its start around this time last year ... the lights are going to go off and that was before this war situation etc. ....

Are they such a thing as an energy crisis? or is it mere hype to up demand and up prices? Why do energy companies have to sponsor so much sport and charity ... asking us the pay higher bills to do so!!

That war in Ukraine, those sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, etc., the disaster that is modern day Iraq ... yes all them have created a situation where the full potential of global energy is not realised.

.... But other than that ... it is pure greed. Green policies are rushed but ultimately to get us to pay more taxes and buy EVs. Energy companies charge hefty fees and give some of them to sport and charity where the money makes others rich at our expense. From where I stand a lot of policies green or otherwise are destroying this and other countries ...

PS: the lights did not go off last year. Scare mongering over Ukraine now, Covid/mass returning to normal using energy then, the weather all the time, something else next!!