Europe puts its foot on the gas — then tells Africa to slow down

Few should be surprised that, facing energy shortages and rising costs for fuel and electricity, rich countries are turning back to more and dirtier fossil fuels. To compensate for the slowdown in Russian gas deliveries — and to replace clean energy lost due to its shutdown of nuclear power — Germany is firing up coal plants previously scheduled for closure. Countries such as Norway, Britain and the United States are all ramping up oil and gas production. Some European countries are even burning fuel oil again to generate electricity.