The performances of Greta
Greta's bla bla bla has become annoying, the usual play where the social costs of the Green Deal are ignored. The article by Tino Oldani for Italy Today
Roberto Cingolani, 59, minister for ecological transition, is an authoritative scientist, who knows environmental issues like few others, and has repeatedly explained to Italians that the Green Deal, the European plan to reduce emissions of a harmful gas such as carbon dioxide (CO2), it will not be a walk, but "a bloodbath". The first signs, which fully confirm this forecast, have already arrived: gas and electricity bills skyrocket, with quarterly increases of 40% only partially mitigated by the government; entire sectors of the economy in difficulty, or even on their knees, forced to restructure following the restrictions launched by Brussels with the “Fit for 55” package; very hard social costs for the loss of thousands of jobs. Huge sacrifices that the EU Commission has imposed on the 27 member countries, considering them inevitable to reduce harmful emissions by 55% by 2030 and reach zero in 2050.
Faced with this scenario, I was baffled by what happened in Milan at the Youth4Climate conference, where Greta Thunberg repeated the same script she has been acting for years, accusing the politicians of only doing bla bla bla, instead of opposing change. climate with drastic measures. Therefore, an accusation also directed against Cingolani, who is an intervention to ask for suggestions and concrete proposals from Tunbergh and the young people who consider her an icon, but in response he got the accusation of bla bla bla.
I don't know what the minister deduced from it, but I felt annoyed. How can a scientist, who has years of study and research behind him in the laboratory, be treated like a pedal by a girl whose ignorance about the climate is matched only by her school absenteeism? On Wednesday, the newspapers dripped with the usual rhetoric about Greta "world icon of environmentalism", but no one remembers that a French professor, Marc Reisegner, an expert on climate issues, in 2019, after seeing the images of Greta sitting outside the Swedish parliament on TV with the sign «Strike at school for the climate» ”, he went specifically to Stockholm to talk to her. “I heard you suggested that young people study the climate. I'd like to talk a little bit about this, I guess you've studied it, ”he told her. The answer? Silent scene, and immediate intervention by the bodyguard and the press officer to take her away: "We have other things to do." For the professor, the proof that Greta knew nothing about climate: «It seemed to me that I was in front of a cold girl, without passion, a doll manipulated by disturbing people».
A judgment shared by the German weekly Der Spiegel, which in an investigation defined Greta as "a puppet in the hands of lucrative puppeteers", of whom she gave names and surnames, explaining that a worldwide lobby has been operating behind Greta for years, which sees in the green revolution a new source of speculative profits. The founding leaders of this lobby, according to various reconstructions (ItaliaOggi of 18 December 2019), are two: Al Gore, former US vice president and environmentalist who has always been, for cultural content; and Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England and the Financial Stability Board, a heavyweight in world finance, for financial strategies. It is thanks to them that Greta has become a world icon, invited to have her say in front of the highest political forums, such as the UN assembly, the European Parliament, even the Italian Senate. And on every occasion, he has always played the same script: on the climate, politicians are only bla bla bla.
In my small way, I think it is time to say enough to the dramas of this "puppet", and to shift attention to the consequences of the green transition already underway, to the winning sectors, which are benefiting from it, and to the losing ones, which are unlikely they will be able to restructure and survive. The decarbonisation underway, according to authoritative analysts, will cause a profound economic revolution in the coming decades, comparable to historical passages, such as that from medieval agriculture to the industrial revolution and that from coal to oil. The future lies in the silicon and rare earths of microchips: entire production chains will be forced to close, replaced by others that are more competitive and environmentally sustainable; scrapping, like layoffs, will be massive and not at all painless; new markets and new jobs will emerge, obviously only if they are judged sustainable, but in insufficient numbers to absorb the mass of the unemployed. So much so that we begin to discuss the universal minimum income, as a shock absorber for the Grand Reset.
The most provident governments, large groups and major industrial associations have commissioned ad hoc studies to calibrate their moves. Among the sectors considered losers are the car, especially components, road transport (but not trains), old-fashioned mechanics, the oil & gas giants that will not be able to find a new energy mix, as sustainable as hydrogen. and fourth generation nuclear power. There is also trouble in sight for air transport, including low cost, due to the sharp rise in the price of fossil fuels.
As for the costs necessary to remain on the market, a study by Boston Consulting on the less green sectors of Confindustria (steel, chemicals, foundries, paper, glass, cement, ceramics), estimated that their price to be paid to remain sustainable will be equal to 15 billion euros in ten years, against a turnover of these companies of 88 billion and 700 thousand employees. An enormous cost, which requires Mario Draghi's government to prepare as soon as possible an agenda for industrial transition that goes beyond the NRP, makes the EU Green Deal less devastating. And forget about the blah blah blah, unbearable and empty, of a presumptuous but ignorant puppet.
Article published on ItaliaOggi
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/vi-racconto-ultima-recita-di-greta/ on Sat, 02 Oct 2021 06:04:14 +0000.