Economy
The European Union is shifting back towards fossil fuels
From Resource Works
In 2024, the EU shifted towards a cautious, fossil fuel-inclusive energy strategy amid rising costs and public unrest
In 2024, the European Union’s shift back towards fossil fuels began to solidify in earnest.
Over the past few years, Giorgia Meloni has become the Prime Minister of Italy, Geert Wilders’ party is the senior partner in the governing coalition of the Netherlands, and Friedrich Merz is poised to ascend to the leadership of Germany’s government. All three figures are on the political right and are far more nuanced or sceptical of renewable energy, depending on whom you speak to.
The EU’s once ironclad commitment to rapidly replacing fossil fuels with renewables has cracked and given way to a more cautious and inclusive strategy to keep homes heated and industry powered. There is also growing resistance to the sacrifices being asked of ordinary EU citizens to meet the demands of aggressive green policies, which helped fuel their rise—no pun intended.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy reiterated her government’s ambition for Italy to become a hub of natural gas in Europe. Meloni’s government has signed a important deal with Libya and reaffirmed Italy’s partnership with Algeria across the Mediterranean to grow imports of natural gas to Italy.
Meloni herself has labelled EU climate policies as “disastrous” and has pledged to revise them, while her government has prioritized energy security and economic pragmatism. Her push to boost Mediterranean gas development is in large part a reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which led to severe restrictions on imports of Russian gas.
While many critics charge Meloni’s approach to fossil fuels as short-sighted, her approach resonates with many Italians and other Europeans who will no longer tolerate economic disruption due to energy shortages.
In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) has been the senior partner in the governing coalition since October 2023 and is far more hawkishly contrarian when it comes to EU climate policies. Wilders has dismissed proposed new investments in offshore wind turbines, solar farms, and other measures as “pointless climate hobbies.”
The PVV’s manifesto proposes abolishing Dutch climate laws, removing the country from the Paris Agreement, and growing fossil fuel extraction in the North Sea. Wilders is likely to face resistance from his more moderate coalition partners, but his electoral success is another indicator that green policies are no longer deal-breakers for European voters.
To the east, in Germany, Friedrich Merz and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are heavily favoured to return to power in the 2025 election after just four years out of government.
Merz opposes the EU’s mandated ban on combustion engines by 2035 and is open to reviving nuclear energy, which was controversially phased out under the current Social Democratic Party-led government after pressure from the Green Party, a junior coalition partner. As a junior partner in the current governing coalition, the Greens are unlikely to join a CDU-led government if the party secures a plurality in the upcoming election, as they have never formed a coalition with the CDU before.
Under Merz, the CDU advocates for “technological openness,” which opens the door to a host of alternatives to heavy-handed energy phaseouts. Like Meloni in Italy, Merz remains committed to EU climate goals, but the CDU’s pro-business outlook could very well slow the pace of renewable energy adoption in favour of economic and industrial goals.
Germany has a special role in the EU as the largest economy and has acted as its unofficial leader for decades. The decisions made by a likely Merz-led CDU government will have a huge impact across the bloc, even if his approach may be tempered by his coalition partners.
The approach of Merz, Meloni, and Wilders reflects a broad reorientation in Europe due to rising energy costs, stagnating economies, geopolitical uncertainty, and public backlash.
This shift is not indicative of climate denial or an abandonment of the EU’s commitment to climate neutrality by 2050, but the pathway is far murkier. Global energy leaders should take note and ponder what role they can play with the EU’s more inclusive approach to energy security.
From LifeSiteNews
Saskatchewan has become the first Canadian province to free itself entirely of the carbon tax.
On March 27, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced the removal of the provincial industrial carbon tax beginning April 1, boosting the province’s industry and making Saskatchewan the first carbon tax free province.
Under Moe’s direction, Saskatchewan has dropped the industrial carbon tax which he says will allow Saskatchewan to thrive under a “tariff environment.”
“I would hope that all of the parties running in the federal election would agree with those objectives and allow the provinces to regulate in this area without imposing the federal backstop,” he continued.
The removal of the tax is estimated to save Saskatchewan residents up to 18 cents a liter in gas prices.
The removal of the tax will take place on April 1, the same day the consumer carbon tax will reduce to 0 percent under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s direction. Notably, Carney did not scrap the carbon tax legislation: he just reduced its current rate to zero. This means it could come back at any time.
Furthermore, while Carney has dropped the consumer carbon tax, he has previously revealed that he wishes to implement a corporation carbon tax, the effects of which many argued would trickle down to all Canadians.
The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) celebrated Moe’s move, noting that the carbon tax was especially difficult on farmers.
“I think the carbon tax has been in place for approximately six years now coming up in April and the cost keeps going up every year,” SARM president Bill Huber said.
“It puts our farming community and our business people in rural municipalities at a competitive disadvantage, having to pay this and compete on the world stage,” he continued.
“We’ve got a carbon tax on power — and that’s going to be gone now — and propane and natural gas and we use them more and more every year, with grain drying and different things in our farming operations,” he explained.
“I know most producers that have grain drying systems have three-phase power. If they haven’t got natural gas, they have propane to fire those dryers. And that cost goes on and on at a high level, and it’s made us more noncompetitive on a world stage,” Huber decalred.
The carbon tax is wildly unpopular and blamed for the rising cost of living throughout Canada. Currently, Canadians living in provinces under the federal carbon pricing scheme pay $80 per tonne.
As the federal government removes the consumer carbon tax, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on all party leaders to oppose all carbon taxes, including the hidden tax on business.
“Canadians fought hard to force Ottawa to back down on its consumer carbon tax and now the fight moves to stopping the hidden carbon tax on business,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Canadians can’t afford a carbon tax on business that pushes up prices at the gas station and makes it harder for our businesses to compete while they’re already struggling with a trade war.”
Today, the federal government cut the consumer carbon tax rate to $0. This will reduce taxes by about 17 cents per litre of gasoline, 21 cents per litre of diesel and 15 cents per cubic metre of natural gas.
The federal government still imposes an industrial carbon tax on oil and gas, steel and fertilizer businesses, among others.
During the Liberal Party leadership race, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would “improve and tighten” the industrial carbon tax and “extend the framework to 2035.”
Just 12 per cent of Canadians believe businesses pay most of the cost of the industrial carbon tax, according to a Leger poll commissioned by the CTF. Meanwhile, 70 per cent said businesses would pass most or some carbon tax costs on to consumers.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will “repeal the entire carbon tax law, including the tax on Canadian businesses and industries.”
“Carbon taxes on refineries make gas more expensive, carbon taxes on utilities make home heating more expensive and carbon taxes on fertilizer plants increase costs for farmers and that makes groceries more expensive,” Terrazzano said. “Canadians know Poilievre will end all carbon taxes and Canadians know Carney’s carbon tax costs won’t be zero.
“Carney owes Canadians a clear answer: How much will your carbon tax cost?”
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