Commentary

Solar versus oil

January 22, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

“No country has ever invaded another to seize its solar panels or wind turbines,” says the clarion call from the David Suzuki Foundation in its weekly Science Matters article. In it, they propose an examination of the merits of solar panels over oil, titled “A Global Peace – Stop burning Fossil Fuels.”

It is interesting to note that, as a collective with reference to our politics, big business and other means of governing, money has a pivotal role in almost all our decisions. Not simply money and profits, but with blindfolds on, as it seems, we have chosen and rely on the most harmful ways to bring energy to our needs. It is very well known, in fact and without any reasonable debate on the matter – that power created by oil, coal and gas is the major cause of the planet’s warming; that fracking for “natural”(LNG) gas may even be the cause of minor earthquakes.

Yet, to prove definitively that renewable alternatives work, according to the European Environment Agency, a whopping 50 per cent of electricity in the whole European Union (EU) was provided by renewable sources, like solar, hydrogen and wind, in 2024. The site offers charts to demonstrate the growth in the renewables industry in Europe from 2005 to 2024.

Scientists have been warning world leaders since the 1950’s, outlining with real clarity the consequences of using oil, etc., and we are seeing with that same clarity, the truth of their warnings over the past decade.

The approach of the piece, written by David Suzuki with contributions from Senior Editor and writer Ian Hanington, illustrates the fundamentally essential contrast between oil (read: fossil fuels) and solar panels and wind turbines (read: renewables/alternatives). They argue the fact of the politics around oil and the excuse that large sources provide for aggression across international borders. The determination to acquire large reserves of oil by any means is very much in the news at the moment. As the article makes clear, it was openly admitted that the recent invasion of Venezuela was about “seizing control of the South American country’s vast reserves of heavy crude oil.”

Urging an end to burning fossil fuels, from the view of countries whose oil stock might be the scene of violence or aggression, Suzuki and his team note that oil comes with violence attached, whether as crimes between nations or in the power grab of those who own or endeavour to own reserves of oil. Oil can be monopolized and controlled to the benefit of the wealthy few.

Having made these points, they add that it is impossible to “embargo or attack solar panel sources.”

Countries with the need to import oil are also at the mercy of not only their supplier but at the risk of being embargoed, calling the danger of such an imbalance “corrosive dependency.”

However much we cling to fossil fuels, Suzuki states firmly that the “growth of renewable energy is unstoppable.”

The statistics are in to prove the claim. Shifting from “inefficient, climate-altering fuels” to cleaner energy is inevitable and proceeding rapidly.

More than 90 per cent of new energy capacity in 2024 came from renewable sources, and 91 per cent was less expensive than new fossil fuel alternatives. Global investments in renewable energy have outpaced spending on fossil fuels for the past 10 years.

It is clear that business and investors understand the rise of alternatives as the interest in fossil fuels declines. The evidence of the call for renewables over oil is evident globally. Yet, here we still are, Suzuki notes, talking about pipelines and specifically here in Canada, where one of those pipelines headed for Northwest B.C. is bound to an extremely vulnerable harbour for marine life, including salmon and whales.

According to the World Energy Investment (IEA)’s latest report, clear energy investment is surging with an unprecedented USD $3 trillion over 2025, of which “US$2.2 trillion will go to clean energy technologies, including renewables, grids, storage, nuclear and efficiency initiatives, signalling the accelerating dominance of the so-called ‘Age of Electricity’”

Oil can be used in influencing violence, to the extreme, and it causes growingly irreparable damage to the environment, whereas the burgeoning global investment in and safety from renewables offers obvious benefits to our planet. By replacing fossil fuels with renewables like solar panels and wind turbines, which remarkably do the same job for less cost, Suzuki writes, “There’s no place in this world for more pipelines, more drilling, more burning.”

Humans are prone to addictions – drugs, alcohol, gambling, a long list:

We are addicted to oil as a source of energy.

But we must confront it, call it by its name as an addiction and like any addict, it might be hard to wean humanity off it. The addict’s trial is to live through the separation in order to continue to exist well.

Our societies help addicts survive and live better. Now, we must help ourselves.

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