Liars? Yes. 

Idiots? Most certainly. 

Both? Obviously so. 

IRENA, an intergovernmental agency created by a remarkably stupid treaty between the European Union and 170 countries worldwide, has a modest proposal: spend almost 10 percent of global GDP over the next quarter-century to expand renewable energy production. 

IRENA's latest report tracking progress towards the UAE Consensus global energy goals finds that up to US$1 trillion/year must be invested in grids & flexibility between 2026 & 2030. Investment in grids is crucial to ensure the connection of renewable power for energy security, economic development & climate protection. See how: http://irena.org/Publications/2026/Sep/UAE-Consensus-2030-tripling-renewables-doubling-efficiency

IRENA is not supposed to be the salesman for the "green energy" industry; it's supposed to be governments working together to develop rational energy plans that improve the lives of citizens. But as with all transnational organizations, that is the sales pitch, not the reality. 

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They really serve their actual client base: NGOs and favored companies — their class allies. The climate industrial complex is a lucrative, powerful place to be, and it would be even more so with direct control over the energy sector. 

So what does this ridiculous organization propose, and what benefits does it promise for investing a tenth of the world's economic input into "transforming" the energy economy? 

Simple: they promise the moon for the low, low cost of $256 trillion, which is, of course, a pittance in the grand scheme of things. In exchange, they will give us countless Bond villains' hangouts, more Davos-type conferences, jobs for their servants and ski resort workers, and a completely transformed grid and energy-generation system that will cost almost nothing and deliver even less reliable power. 

And that $256 trillion price tag is predicated on the assumption that renewable energy systems will be built on time, drop in price yearly by staggering amounts, and that citizens will embrace ever more transmission lines running through their neighborhoods, that there will be no regulatory roadblocks, and that all the energy efficiency claims and longevity of all the components will pan out. 

And all this will be delivered by the same class of people who have delivered the California High-Speed rail project on time and on budget. What could go wrong?

They present a rosy picture of net benefits, predicated on everything going right across multiple sectors of the economy, no budget overruns, systems integration of all the moving parts in a 24-year plan going off without a hitch, and all the efficiency gains delivering as promised. 

Uh huh. Seems plausible to me. 

The only thing you can count on in this plan is that they are asking for a minimum of $256 trillion, and again, that comes from the same type of geniuses who bring you all those other government programs in on time and on budget. 

No wonder Greta Thunberg decided to drop climate change and focus on Middle East peace — at least peace between the Palestinians and Israel has a more plausible path to accomplishment, as long as Israel decides to commit suicide. 

I would like to note for the record that it was only four years ago that John Kerry floated the low, low cost of $4 trillion/year to achieve the same goals that are now projected to cost $10 trillion a year, so perhaps we shouldnt take IRENA at its word that prices will drop and benefits increase. 

Somehow, millions of people take this sort of report seriously and will work to get that money appropriated or spent. Bonds will sell; private capital will pour money into businesses like Solyndra; and fortunes will be made on the promise that nirvana is just around the corner. 

It's all a grift. If these goals were remotely reasonable, private capital would flow into making it happen, because there would be money to be made. Instead, technocrats will decree that it is possible, and only the grifters will make money as the rest of us get poorer and watch our grids degrade in reliability. 

Countries like Germany and the United Kingdom have shown us what swallowing the lies actually delivers: deindustrialization, economic stagnation, and energy prices through the roof. It's not a path anybody should follow.