Renewables Are Winning… So Why Are Fossil Fascists Still Running the Show?

From off-grid solar kits lighting up homes in Nigeria to Europe’s monster floating wind turbines, the clean-energy revolution is here. It’s not just tree-hugging idealism (nice as that is) - it’s economics. Renewables are faster, cheaper, cleaner and in the first half of 2024, they made up 50% of EU electricity generation. But some people, apparently, are above the law. From Qatar to Russia to Trump’s America, the last few weeks have shown just how far the petro-fascists will go to keep us hooked on their dirty fuel.

Qatar’s Fossil Fuel Ransom Note

Take Qatar Energy, state-owned, responsible for 60% of Qatar’s GDP, with zero intention of decarbonising or respecting human rights. The EU’s new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) says: stop doing stuff that wrecks the Paris Agreement. Sounds reasonable, right? Not to Qatar. Their answer: threaten to cut Europe’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply unless the EU backs down.

And that’s not an idle threat; LNG is around 10% of Europe’s energy, and 12–14% of EU LNG comes from Qatar. Switch it off and you don’t just dim the lights; you crash steelworks, cement plants and glass factories.

From Russia With Oil

Europe only turned to LNG in the first place because another authoritarian fossil pusher, Russia, decided to launch a war on the continent. Cutting Putin out of our energy mix cost households across Europe 30% more on their bills. And after all that pain? Over a million dead, Ukraine in ruins, and Russia’s economy still forecast to grow this year.

The EU has cut Russian pipeline gas imports from 45% in 2021 to around 15% in 2023 through its REPowerEU plan, but it’s replaced them with LNG from places like Qatar and the U.S. The sanctions hurt both sides and in the meantime, the world’s autocrats are knitting themselves into a tighter fossil-fuel cartel.

America’s Fossil Friendship Fee

And America? Not swooping in to save the day. Donald Trump never one to miss a shake-down opportunity has been threatening EU tariffs unless we promise to gorge on $750 billion worth of fossil fuels over the next three years. Chief among them, of course: LNG. The new lifeblood of fossil fascism.

We’ve Got the Ammo; Let’s Use It

It’s bleak, yes. But here’s the thing… we’ve already got the weapons to take these toxic players out of our lives. Every new wind turbine or solar panel we install is a strike at the heart of the petro-state business model. We can power ourselves without playing their game.

Britain could be energy independent within a decade if we got serious; harnessing our wind and sun, creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and nailing our energy bills to the floor. We’d cut the strings that let petro-fascists pull our politics around, and we’d keep billions here instead of wiring it to foreign dictators and fossil billionaires.

The fight isn’t just about polar bears and ice caps. It’s about economic strength, jobs, and genuine freedom. We’ve left it late, but the choice is still ours… and it’s time to make it.