In June of this year, the European Union (EU) placed a ban — beginning in 2035 — on the sale of new cars with combustion engines. But with winter and potential energy shortages coming, one EU nation, Switzerland, is working on a plan that could ban electric vehicles (EVs) from being used for nonessential journeys. That plan exposes the lie that EVs can be a reliable replacement for gas and diesel-powered transportation.
“Switzerland is bracing for an energy crisis this winter due to its reliance on imports to sustain the country through the colder months,” reported The Telegraph.
Swissinfo.ch shared that the threat of potential energy shortages for the Swiss is “exacerbated by the general hike in energy prices, the forced shutdown of around half of France’s nuclear reactors (which supply electricity to Switzerland in the winter) and the prolonged drought. Low river levels, a lack of snowfall in the mountains, and scarce rain have brought water reserves in many hydroelectric basins to an all-time low.”
According to The Telegraph, “Hydroelectric power accounts for around 60 percent of Switzerland’s energy supply. Nuclear power, which the government is working on phasing out, contributes a third, while fossil fuel plants and solar or wind generation add up the rest.”
The Swiss government decided to create a Covid-lockdown-style plan as an emergency response to any potential shortages, as there are currently significant discrepancies in how much electricity the country produces from month to month.
Switzerland’s emergency-response plan has two tiers, emergency and crisis. Each step will be triggered according to the level of energy supplies available, similar to the way the coronavirus emergency measures worked, though they were based on the number of cases and infection rates.
The Telegraph reported:
- The lowest level will see public buildings heated to no more than 20 degrees Celsius, with people asked to limit their washing machines to a maximum of 40 degrees Celsius.
- Under the next level, temperatures will be lowered to 19 degrees Celsius and streaming services asked to lower the resolution of videos from HD quality to standard.
- If the situation worsens, shops will be asked to close two hours early and electric vehicles limited to essential journeys. [Emphasis added.]
- Crisis measures could see hot water disabled in public bathrooms and the use of electric leaf blowers barred.
- Next, escalators will be stopped and outdoor Christmas lighting turned off.
- Cryptocurrency mining would then be banned if supplies keep dropping, along with swimming pools closed and lights in sports stadiums turned off.
- If the most extreme shortages hit, sports matches, concerts and theatre performances will be cancelled, and all leisure businesses forced to close.
These energy emergency measures should be a sign to all of the EU that for them to reach their lofty goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, they have a long and painful road ahead of them, one possibly riddled with dark, cold winter nights.
Part of the reality is that the power grid is nowhere near where it needs to be even to support the EU’s growing thirst for energy, let alone to successfully implement the recently agreed-to plan to end the sale of fossil-fueled cars by 2035.
Forbes reported that “Italy’s transport and infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini was in Brussels on December 5 to discuss transport with his EU27 counterparts and the European Commission’s Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean.”
Salvini shared that he spoke to “the EU commissioner and with my French and German colleagues about reviewing the ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2035,” adding that the proposed ban “makes no economic, environmental or social sense.”
Italy, Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia want to postpone by five years the EU’s proposed target of completely phasing out fossil-fueled cars by 2035. A Bulgarian official told Reuters said that “climate policies needed to take into consideration the differing financial situations of the EU’s member states and its populations.”
As energy-grid woes continue for the EU and other nations around the world, the utopian desire to eliminate fossil fuels and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 will continue to face growing pushback, as the reality of this unrealistic goal becomes quite clear when you’re stuck at home in the dark on a cold winter’s day.
