In 2021, the world’s self-appointed moral guardians experienced a collective climax of self-congratulation. Beijing, in a move that anyone with a functioning frontal lobe should have viewed with profound suspicion, announced it would stop building and financing new coal-fired power plants abroad. The reaction from the West was not one of critical analysis, but of nauseating, performative delight. John Kerry, a man whose primary contribution to the planet seems to be the generation of hot air while traveling on private jets to discuss the dangers of hot air, declared himself “absolutely delighted.” Alok Sharma, a member of the British House of Lords who treats diplomacy like a LinkedIn networking event, took to social media to suggest that this monumental shift was the direct result of his own tireless badgering. It was a masterclass in delusional vanity: the belief that a sclerotic Western bureaucracy could, through the sheer power of being ‘right,’ convince a rising superpower to abandon its strategic interests.

Fast forward to the present, and the applause has been replaced by the rhythmic clicking of useless light switches. From the sun-drenched plains of Chile to the historic streets of Spain and Portugal, the reality of the “Green Transition” is hitting home in the most literal sense: the lights are going out. The West cheered for the destruction of the energy base before they had anything viable to replace it with, and China, ever the pragmatist, was more than happy to oblige. You see, the CCP doesn't operate on the same timeline as a four-year election cycle or a twenty-four-hour news cycle. They understood that by exiting the overseas coal market, they could simultaneously satisfy the West’s desperate need for a symbolic victory while creating a massive energy vacuum that only their own state-subsidized ‘renewables’ could eventually fill. It wasn't a concession; it was a liquidation of obsolete liability disguised as a moral epiphany.

The irony is so thick you could choke on it, if the smog from the remaining coal plants didn't get to you first. The very people who spent decades decrying the ‘evils’ of fossil fuels are now presiding over economies that are rediscovering the primitive thrill of candlelight and cold dinners. In Chile, the rush to dismantle coal capacity has led to a grid so fragile it could be toppled by a stiff breeze. In Europe, the Iberian Peninsula is learning the hard way that you cannot power a modern industrial society on the smug satisfaction of Alok Sharma’s tweets. The physics of energy density do not care about the “discussions” held by envoys in five-star hotel lounges. When you stop building the infrastructure that actually provides base-load power, and you don't have a miracle battery technology waiting in the wings, you get blackouts. This isn't a tragic accident; it is the inevitable conclusion of a policy driven by aesthetics rather than engineering.

But let us not ignore the role of the useful idiots in the climate advocacy groups. These organizations, populated by people who think the world runs on hope and artisanal kale, pressured Western banks to divest from coal years ago. They thought they were starving the beast; in reality, they were just handing the keys of global energy development to Beijing. Then, when Beijing decided it was done playing that particular game, the activists celebrated the “win” without bothering to check if the countries involved actually had a Plan B. Now, as the developing world and parts of the developed world face an energy crisis, these same advocates are strangely silent, or busy pivoting to the next moral crusade that requires zero understanding of thermodynamics.

China’s coal ban was never about saving the planet; it was about shifting the theater of war. By withdrawing from overseas coal, China signaled that the era of cheap, reliable energy infrastructure for the rest of the world was over, unless it came wrapped in a Chinese-made solar panel or wind turbine. The West, in its infinite stupidity, mistook a tactical retreat for a total surrender. They thought they were leading China toward the light, when in fact, they were being led into a dark room where the only exit is controlled by the people they claim to be competing with.

Politicians like Kerry and Sharma will, of course, never admit fault. They will blame “logistical hurdles” or “unforeseen geopolitical tensions.” They will continue to fly to summits, eat wagyu beef, and tell you that the cold darkness you’re sitting in is actually the glow of progress. They have secured their legacies in the form of press releases, while the rest of the world prepares for a future where ‘energy security’ is a nostalgic concept from a more intelligent era. We are witnessing the first global blackout caused by a surplus of virtue and a deficit of common sense. Enjoy the silence; it’s the sound of the West winning its own funeral.