Germany recently found itself at the centre of global media attention after its government approved the demolition of a wind farm and a small village to facilitate the expansion of highly polluting lignite mining. The lignite will be used to supply previously mothballed coal power stations, which are being restarted to help keep homes heated and lit as winter begins in Europe.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, noting this event and the recent calls made by European delegates at the COP 27 conference for Uganda to delay work on an oil pipeline (which Uganda is building in conjunction with Tanzania), commented:

“When such decisions are made, and without the slightest conscience or honour, it is no surprise that some of my colleagues in Africa are demanding compensation or benefits. But that is the last thing Africans need or want. We want this blatant double standard to disappear, and for the moratorium on investment in fossil fuels in Africa to be lifted so that we can meet the needs of our people.”

I have written before about the situation in developing nations caused by European efforts to stockpile liquefied natural gas for domestic consumption, which has driven international prices to unprecedented levels that some countries, such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka, cannot afford. As a result, several countries have faced serious problems in meeting basic human needs and power supply outages lasting half a day or longer.

Now, media attention is increasingly being drawn to the EU's decision to classify wood burning as “green” for the purposes of its climate regulatory framework. Such a classification and corresponding state subsidies have stimulated a resurgence of 18th-century technology, despite the fact that wood burning generates more than 50% of Europe's particulate matter emissions.