Europe's in meltdown, and it's not even June yet. We're seeing a not-so merry month of May as record highs explode under a heat dome that’s drifted north from the Sahara. After the frying pan of an energy crisis, the fire of a heatwave is forcing a reset by the same politicians who pandered to those who complained about the cost and red tape of recent energy transition policy.
Enter Emmanuel Macron. France's president was precisely one of those politicians who had segued from summits to make the planet great again to cuts in subsidies for homeowners and moratoriums on going green. Flanked by captains of industry, Macron on Tuesday unveiled plans to turbocharge what almost sounds like the electrification of everything.
We hear about heat pumps, charging stations and electric vehicle factories here in the land of nuclear power. More broadly, can industry and technology come to the rescue of humanity? If blocking the Strait of Hormuz is all it takes to threaten livelihoods the world over, it's worth asking about the sustainability of the alternative: an alternative that features a scramble for copper, cobalt, uranium and whatever else can be extracted in the name of growth.
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Guillaume Gougeon, Charles Wente.
