Dark mutterings can be heard about the prospect of energy rationing looming ahead. Germany has already triggered its protocol for rationing gas in case economic warfare with Russia gets even worse. The UK government is doing its best to reassure the public that it does not plan to ration energy. But in case you haven’t noticed, we already do.
In the fifth richest country in the world, people are having to spend all day on the bus to stay warm because they can’t afford to heat their homes. Some 40% of Britons could fall into fuel poverty when the energy price cap rises in the autumn. Beyond British borders, 13% of the global population – mostly in Africa and South Asia – has no access to electricity at all. Meanwhile, the ultra-rich swan around on private jets and fly to the moon.
That’s rationing by price. If you can afford it, you can spaff away as much energy as you like, regardless of the harm it does to the Earth. If you can’t, forget about keeping warm or feeding your family. It may be the silliest form of rationing conceivable: we are failing to meet the basic needs of billions of people while still managing to burn down our planet. Talk about a lose-lose scenario.
