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Get Ready for the Global Energy Crisis
The cost of living just got higher. Again.
For months, we have been hearing about shortages and delays of consumer goods. Everything from computer chips to dog food. The past few weeks have seen dire warnings that things will get worse, with holiday supplies at an all-time low this year.
The lack of stuff to buy is a problem, but there’s a bigger storm brewing that’s about to crash over our heads: a lack of energy.
For anyone paying attention to international news, this shouldn’t be a big surprise. China and India are already in an energy crisis, rationing electricity.
China is Running Out of (Cheap) Coal
For China, the electricity cuts stem from being the world’s source of cheap labor, with factories using up more electricity than normal.
As the world starts to reopen after the pandemic, demand for Chinese goods is surging and the factories making them need a lot more power.
Rules imposed by Beijing as it attempts to make the country carbon neutral by 2060 have seen coal production slow, even as the country still relies on coal for more than half of its power.
And as electricity demand has risen, the price of coal has been pushed up.
