Future rests in renewables

Re: “U.S. has LNG to heat Europe; does it have the will?” Opinion, Friday:

In their argument for expanding liquified natural gas facilities to serve European needs, Wayne Stoltenberg and Merrill Matthews are being pennywise and pound-foolish. Yes, we need to help Europe counter the Russian cutoff of natural gas, but continued use of fossil fuels will kill off mankind.

Rather than opt for that dead-end route, Germany is bringing back idle coal-powered plants as a temporary solution but expanding renewables at an unprecedented pace. And the European Union has undertaken a huge policy initiative to accelerate an already planned clean energy transition. Target date for energy independence is no later than 2027.

The Union of Concerned Scientists has warned that new gas-fired power plants will become “stranded assets” as renewables take over. Stoltenberg and Matthews both work at the Institute for Policy Innovation, which receives major funding from Exxon Mobil and a Koch foundation, so their position is strongly biased toward fossil fuels. But the future of Europe, mankind and the Earth rests with renewables.