German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says the EU and U.S. are trying to convince countries to increase oil production. Somebody better wake up Biden and let him know.
Reuters (5/24/22) reports: "The European Union and United States are trying to convince oil and gas-producing countries to increase their production to help lower global fuel prices, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with Deutsche Welle. 'It is necessary that we start to increase the supply with gas, with fuel, with all the things to make it feasible for the countries to pay for their bill,' Scholz was quoted as saying, asked about an U.S.-EU initiative mentioned by his economy minister. 'We are now discussing with all these countries that are exploring oil and gas and trying to convince them to increase their capacities, so this would help the world market.'"
Not inflation, not $7/gallon gas, not half the country bracing for rolling blackouts, not even families struggling to find baby formula. "Environmental justice" is the number one issue says, Secretary Jenny.
Quick, fire up the jet and send Special Kerry to Germany.
Reuters (5/24/22) reports: "Germany is planning to use coal-fired power stations which would have been idled this year and next as reserve facilities in case of disruption to gas supplies from Russia, economy ministry sources said on Tuesday. The proposals, drawn up by the ministry as part of precautionary measures in case of a gas shortage, would run until March 31, 2024 as Germany tries to cut its dependence on Russian fossil fuels after the invasion of Ukraine, the sources said. In particular, gas, which accounted for 15% of power production input last year, must be prioritised for industry and heating homes if a bottleneck arises, making it necessary to draw on idled coal capacity to fill the gaps, they said. Under the provision, a total 8.5 gigawatts (GW) of brown, hard coal-fired and a small amount of oil-fired generation capacity, all already, or due to be idled in 2022 and 2023, would be enabled by their operators to provide electricity on demand. Participation in the scheme would be voluntary and operators would be compensated from public funds for holding feedstock ready, and for providing the necessary technical assistance. The sources said that maintaining coal capacity in a state of readiness would not mean that plants emit additional carbon emissions, stressing that the plan would not derail Germany's overall goal to stop using coal for power generation by 2030."
When the guy who gave us WeWork creates a carbon marketplace company, you know they're BS. And yet, the New York money guys are still pouring money into it.
Inside (5/24/22) reports: "Flowcarbon raised $70M in venture funding and a token sale. The $32M Series A equity financing round was led by Andreessen Horowitz. The New York-based startup offers a voluntary carbon marketplace through its carbon-backed token called Goddess Nature Token (GNT). The company reported that GNT is 'backed by certified credits issued over the last five years from nature-based projects.' Flowcarbon has partnered with Layer 1 blockchain Celo to offer $10M worth of GNT. Celo will use the tokens to offset their emissions. Other funding round participants include General Catalyst, Samsung Next, Invesco Private Capital, 166 2nd, RSE Ventures, Fifth Wall, Box Group, and Allegory Labs. Adam Neumann, founder of WeWork, co-founded Flowcarbon along with Dana Gibber, Caroline Klatt, Rebekah Neumann, and Ilan Stern."
