Brenda Shaffer | Tom Nelson Pod #391
Brenda Shaffer discusses her Wall Street Journal piece arguing that current renewable-driven policies undermine energy security by making Western systems less reliable, more expensive, and dependent on concentrated supply chains, often tied to China. She says maritime security failures (Red Sea, Russia-Ukraine, Strait disruptions) show poor preparation, and argues fossil fuels still dominate the global energy mix (87%) despite decades of subsidies, while wind/solar remain limited and require backup baseload. She criticizes restricting fossil-fuel finance, especially in Africa, for worsening energy access and development. Shaffer claims UN climate institutions are political, seek taxation power withouBt representation, and that climate movements often oppose both fossil fuels and nuclear. She highlights Germany’s costly energy transition, emphasizes operational energy in warfare, and calls to restore energy security as national security and enable open debate.
00:00 Renewables and Crisis
00:57 Energy Security Failures
03:04 Emperor New Clothes
05:36 China and Methane Politics
10:32 Climate Narratives vs Reality
12:33 Myths of Transition
16:26 Cutting Supply Hurts Poor
19:50 Africa Needs Real Power
26:36 Germany Energiewende Fallout
29:21 Climate Activism and Anti West
30:33 Hydrocarbon Roadmap Skepticism
31:19 UN Climate Taxes and Power Grabs
33:18 Transparency and Budget Secrecy
34:39 Trump Era Workarounds and Lawfare
38:08 Gatekeepers and Speaking Freely
39:13 Languages and Middle East Shifts
44:07 Operational Energy in Warfare
47:53 Military Electrification Limits
51:52 IPCC Politics and Carbon Markets
55:27 Extreme Weather Narratives
58:01 Energy Realism Closing Message
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