It feels strange to me living in the UK that the sanctions have been spearheaded by the US when they are mostly shielded from Russia. Whereas for European countries, it is obvious that they are dependent on Russian gas and yet they are not willing to negotiate.
The average citizen cares about their energy bill and putting food on the table more than some idealistic notion of standing up to bullies.
The rest of the G7 at least seem prepared to shield their population as much as possible through planning and government intervention, which is probably why they seem much less concerned.
On top of that, the answer to the pain of the current sanctions isn't to go back to relying on Russian gas. It's to pump covid levels of investment into alternatives that don't require us to prop up quasi-dictatorships in order to keep the lights on.
But how? The entire economy of the city of London is based on being the word's money laundering capital, vacation playground and best buddy for Russian Oligarchs, Saudi Royals, CCP big shots and other wealthy dictators and warlords. It's Thacher's legacy.
The general feeling towards Russia in the UK is very hostile, and there are certainly a huge number of people happy to put the squeeze on Putin. There is little to no enthusiasm for appeasement here, and the pressure is on the government to ease the pressure on the vulnerable without bending over to Russian foreign policy.
[0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko
[1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Sergei_and_Yuli...
I am prepared to believe that until next week they are fully aware that the people who will elect them genuinely don't care about the poor. After that I hope the idea of getting re-elected by the public will induce a sudden change of plan, if not heart.
I'm happy to pay the price of solidarity with Ukraine.
I work with both Russian and Ukrainian people and none of them want this war.
People are dieing and being forced out of their homes. I know this is happing everywhere but I would like to support these people: 1 because I know people in that country and 2 because like Britain in the second world war they are fighting for some form of a fair democracy.
If that means I have to buy cheaper food and not have heating.. It's a small price to pay compared to what my friends are going through.
I'm irish, living in the UK, and the cost of living crisis is significantly worse here. The standard rate that Electric ireland are about to increase to for both gas and electricity is lower than I paid last winter, and we're about to see our bills almost double from that (and do the same again in 6 months). My bill in october will be almost 4x the cost of what it was last september.
You could also argue that the current prices are just a teaser of what's coming anyway so more incentive to innovate now instead of later. Very harsh and not completely true, but I think there's a little bit of truth to it
China is reselling Russian lng while India is reselling Russian oil as blend.
True intelligence is backing down now but stopping all Russian imports gradually over next 10 years
I don't know about the UK, but here nobody is going to have problems putting food on the table or freezing to death this winter. [Edit: I should say, no more problems than we already have.]
My small discomfort at higher heating prices pales in comparison to the death and destruction that Russia is inflicting on Ukraine. If my small discomfort can stop that at all sooner then I am happy to face some discomfort.
I don't understand how people fail to see that our standing up for Ukraine and putting an end to this Russian war as soon as possible is also purely in our self-interests. Russia rampaging through all of Ukraine, and then Georgia, and then Kazakhstan, and then Uzbekistan, and then Finland, and then ..., and then maybe on to NATO (Poland? Balitics?) -- this is not in our interests.
"Oh, but Russia won't do that!" Yeah, that's what all the experts said about Ukraine also. No, sorry, Russia must be stopped now because Russia can no longer be trusted at all.
Also, looks like your neighbors don’t share your opinion.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-prague-european-un...
The Inflation issues we have are partly because of russia, partly because we have a stupidly designed pricing structure. From my understanding we only import about 20% of our gas.
However global gas price sets the entire uk's electricity price. Gas sometimes accounts for 50% -60% of the UK's electricity generation, but that shouldn't result in a 1000% rise in costs.
Every crisis is someone's opportunity to make money off other peoples' loss. As long as their assets are safe and keep going up, nobody cares about CoL going up. Well, at least until riots happen and political extremism grows to new heights.
Come on France, 'do yer thang' (riots), we'll follow suit.
Somewhat unlikely for now. The government is shielding the population from the worst, as they should, by capping electricity prices and with grants/loans to those worst impacted. The average Brit is being hit much worse than the average French.
this one is based on what? on some sources or own projections?
Yes we need to deal with this crisis by constructing enough nuclear power plants that we never need power again, and that means overriding all rules about planning permissions.
This means that energy prices will be higher than before this winter, and then lower and green forever after. Technically Europe still needs to import Uranium, but we can get that from anywhere and a single ship or aircraft can transport enough for it never to be an issue.
Backing down to a bully will only encourage and empower it further. The current situation in Europe is status quo in poor countries, so the world isn't ending...
Why are the G7 not increasing the aid to Ukraine, to more quickly end the war and force Russia to settle?
So G7 wants a soft "landing".
We now see how western powers are forcing Ukraine to do devastating counter offensives that will lead to quicker defeat. And even then I think Russia will take its time.
We’re approaching a 10 year long business cycle where cheap energy is everything, and Russian’s know that. There is no way out without huge money printing to replace Russian energy, all the while we finished biggest money printing cycle in our lifetimes.
Russia waited since 2014 and chose a best time. Europe will fold sooner or later.
I wonder what would happen if the real civilized world started aiding freedom fighters against UK in Iraq, Syria and Libya?
Russia will probably start doing that
This was my problem with the Syria war too.
US: We want war! Europe you will get refugees, good luck.
Europe could have also have pursued a strong military, independent of US protection, energy independence from Russia and a strong domestic tech sector allowing it to stick it up and sanction US and Russian warmongering.
But as it stands, it has to 'shut up and take it'.
Negociate what?
Russia has stated multiple times that the only negotiation offer they accept is the complete surrender of Ukraine:
> Russia vowed on Tuesday its assault on Ukraine would continue until Kyiv surrenders
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220628-russia-demand...
The G7 includes the EU as a non enumerated member. The EU, which does not include Ukraine but does include the Baltics and some Nordic states which fear for their own safety. Not to mention how intertwined the G7’s interests are with NATO.
There is a really derpy “if you ignore all the killing that’s happening in this war, it would totally make financial sense to end the sanctions” vibe to some of these comments. The people who are at risk have a say as well.
Blaming this all of this on the UK’s stance wrt Russia is mostly a move by politicians who don’t want to admit how badly they’ve messed regular governing up.
Aside from the obvious Brexit hangover, there is now a messy and confused series of economic policies in place and no clear leadership with regard to policies that could help tackle this issue. The quite literal absence of a functioning executive makes it difficult to take action, and even after a new PM is in place on Monday it’s not clear what’s going to happen.
At least for my part, I’m entirely happy with a massive tax increase on myself and people like me if it helps to ensure that tanks don’t roll into Romania, and my neighbours don’t starve or freeze to death over winter. The “average citizen” in any case is probably more compassionate than you give them credit for.
Their populations, not their leaders.
So no, this is not something imposed by the US, it is a policy initiated by europe, for europe's benefit, and with the support of the US.
If that where true we would all be Nazi.
Remember when Trump imposed duties on EU?
Yeah the rich of US doesn't care.. Sorry
Also, blaming that while there's a pandemic and war impacting the supply of the most critical raw materials (energy and foodstuffs) is a curious (being very generous here) choice.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/net-zero-bankrupts-britain-hous... Net-Zero Emissions Policy Bankrupts Britain And it could do the same to the U.S., which is following a similar path. Updated Aug. 26, 2022 7:01 pm ET
Americans who fancy themselves net-zero climate advocates might want to take a look at Britain for a guide to the future. Household energy bills were expected to rise 40% this autumn, but on Friday the government regulator announced they’ll leap 80% in a single bound.
This boost follows a 54% rise in April and brings the average household’s annual bill to £3,549 ($4,208). The median household income is £31,400, which gives a sense of the growing proportion of each household’s budget that will go toward central heating, cooking and keeping the lights on. For the ruling Tories, this is a political calamity.
And that’s merely what households will spend directly on energy. Britain is also in the grip of an energy-price crisis for businesses, whose rates aren’t subject to a cap. Some small businesses report they can’t get any utility to supply them without paying a steep deposit up front, because energy companies are concerned that high prices will push more small firms into insolvency. Lower-income households in particular will bear the brunt of this as prices for goods and services skyrocket and companies lay off employees.
If you think this couldn’t happen in America, think again. The underlying cause of Britain’s energy misery is its fixation with climate goals, especially the ambition to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. To meet that goal Britain has grown hostile to domestic energy exploration, banning shale-gas fracking and slapping windfall-profits taxes on North Sea oil and gas producers that will deter investment. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has hurt, but the U.K.’s policies made its citizens vulnerable to such a global shock.
The U.K. is belatedly building new nuclear plants, but those will take years to come online. Unreliable wind and solar raise the cost the electric grid must pay to balance supply and demand when the winds are still and the sun is behind clouds, and more than 80% of English households rely on gas rather than electricity to heat their homes. All of this drives up the cost of supplying power, and then the government adds about £153 in green levies and a 5% consumption tax directly on household bills.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-cutting-the-green-crap-...
0. Secure food chains _now_. Nobody is talking about this yet. Droughts + fertilizer shortage + energy crisis + inflation = disaster. Name a single Country that got a good harvest this year. Personally I have begun to slowly store long-storage food items to get way ahead of panic buying.
1. Invest in nuclear power heavily. It's okay saying "people should change their lives to be more sustainable" - without ever giving details about exactly how that is supposed to be done. The people saying such things have _zero_ idea about how their Country actually works.
2. Reduce or remove green levies and stop subsidizing green energy initiatives. It is simply false to state that green energy is cheaper when it is heavily subsidized - if it was so affordable and cheap it should be able to fund itself, but it can't. If it needs growth and is such an amazing investment, allow for private investment. If the UK tax payer _must_ subsidize it, we want part ownership of it so we can set prices.
3. Stop pushing for electric cars when we don't have the energy infrastructure or raw materials. Fuel cars are likely to stay until 2050 or so. Hybrids also make more sense as the 'cheap' energy is likely to fluctuate.
4. If a war were to break out, it will likely happen very soon. Countries are on their back-foot, governments need a distraction and tensions easily rise over limited resources in contended locations. We need immediate preparations for defense and offense.
2. In case you haven't noticed, the wind subsidies are now negative. Wind subsidizes natgas, not the other way around.
3. If the lithium supply gets cut off, existing EV's don't stop working. If gasoline gets cut off, gasoline cars are stranded. EV's are crucial for self sufficiency.
As another comment suggested, it shouldn't take 20 years to build a nuclear power plant. "Modern nuclear power plants are planned for construction in five years or less" [1] (with delays, as with all projects of such scale).
> 2. In case you haven't noticed, the wind subsidies are now negative. Wind subsidizes natgas, not the other way around.
Then why is there still a "green tax"? If wind is as great as suggested, why is it being invested into natural gas, and not into more wind?
> 3. If the lithium supply gets cut off, existing EV's don't stop working. If gasoline gets cut off, gasoline cars are stranded. EV's are crucial for self sufficiency.
Lithium is just one raw material, out of many. It's not just power generation, we need massive investments into the electrical infrastructure, green energy to actually supply it (or it's pointless) and a way to feed power from EV's back into the grid on mass (to make up for the shortcomings of green energy). Some of these things will take years and years to fix. Look at how long it took to roll out fiber across the UK, and that's just a small glass cable. In the meantime, the Country actually needs to be able to run.
EVs will one day be the future in one form or another (I still think hydrogen could make sense), but for now and the near future petrol and diesel are here to stay. 2030/2035 will come and go without mass adoption of EVs (the typical lifecycle of a car is much longer than the intended 10 years). I suspect we will see more and more hybrids at that time to aid the transition, but we still won't have the infrastructure.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_of_nuclear_power_pla...
I think in the end, 55 reactors were build in 12 years, replacing all coal and gas plants except for 2.
I mean, 50 000 MW in 12 years, basically. For today equivalent of 50 billions USD.
UK has extremely good wind resources, very mild winters, bearable summers, a lot of capital available, a generally organized society. As a starting point, from energy point of view, it is extremely advantageous compared to say Finland or Germany.
Now vote someone who will act on it. Insulate the houses, build the windmills and nuclear plants. Stop complaining.
1: https://jannemkorhonen.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/image.png
Like the EU nations, the UK was designed and built to use energy in what seemed like a sustainable way. Obviously every Country in Europe is now reconsidering what to make reductions.
If anything this is quite promising for the UK's winter, as there are so many quick-win improvements to be made (assuming we can get sufficient supplies of insulation).
> The houses are the worst insulated in Europe [1].
The majority of the UK doesn't get too much below zero, spending a brief time at -10 degrees. Places in Europe can reach -30/-40 for a sustained period.
We're also talking about houses that are quite old and hard to upgrade (if not impossible due to restrictions).
And if the climate is so mild that insulation is not needed, what's the problem then...
Having said that, all countries would benefit from better building.
Small businesses and charities are already receiving their new contract quotes and deciding to shut down.
And our next Prime Minister shows exactly no sign of caring about or even understanding the seriousness of the situation.
Yeah, it's really quite bad. I'm yet to talk to anybody who isn't worried about this, from low class to upper class.
> Small businesses and charities are already receiving their new contract quotes and deciding to shut down.
Sadly we will now lose many historic institutions that COVID lockdowns didn't quite manage to kill off. Some pubs for example have been around for hundreds of years.
> And our next Prime Minister shows exactly no sign of caring about or even understanding the seriousness of the situation.
I believe I saw Boris _finally_ committing to building new nuclear power stations, but this is maybe 10 years too late. Nuclear power was such an obvious quick win in terms of energy security, green climate action and energy costs. I hope the UK is able to keep its remaining reactors online a while longer until new ones can be phased in.
